Bad Weather Slows Down Progress on Walney 2 Wind Farm (UK)

The progress on Walney 2 has been dramatically reduced due to windy weather conditions for the last couple of weeks.

Heavy winds and high waves have paused the commissioning activities at Walney 2, making it impossible to access the turbines. When the wave height exceeds certain limits, all personnel transfer to the turbines is stopped for safety reasons.

The health and safety of the workforce is of utmost importance, and according to statistics, the rough weather conditions experienced for the last month will occur. However, placing the wind turbines on a windy position is one of the main ideas with wind turbines.

About Walney Windfarms

The Walney Offshore Windfarms project is located approximately 15km west of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. The project consists of Walney 1 and Walney 2 each with 51 – 3.6MW turbines, giving a total capacity of the Walney project of 367.2MW. The rotor diameter of the turbines is 107m for Walney 1 and 120m for Walney 2, with a maximum height of 150m from blade tip to sea level. The total area of the development is some 73km2.

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Offshore Wind Staff , December 20, 2011; Image: dongenergy