UK: Dawson Energy Completes Griffin and Commences London Array Wind Farms

Dawson Energy, part of the Aberdeen and Great Yarmouth-based 3sun Group providing specialist products and services to the energy industry, has completed work on Scottish & Southern Energy’s Griffin wind power project in Perthshire with a value of around £1.5million. The company is exhibiting at stand D59 at All Energy 2012.

As this project has come to an end, the company has commenced work worth an estimated £3million on the London Array Offshore Wind Farm. Currently the world’s largest consented offshore wind farm, Phase 1, rated at 630MW, could generate enough energy to power over 470,000 homes and displace over 900,000 tonnes of CO2 a year – equivalent to taking nearly 300,000 cars off the road each year.

Dawson Energy is an industry leader in delivering installation, maintenance and inspection services for wind turbines and, since being formed 10 years ago, has worked on the construction of the majority of major wind farm projects in the UK both off and onshore.

3sun Group managing director Graham Hacon said: “We have built a reputation for having highly-skilled, competent staff who work to accredited quality, health and safety standards and deliver projects on time and within budget.

 “As a result, our work in the renewables sector has reached record levels and we anticipate continued growth in future years. These contracts were secured through our relationship with Siemens, our biggest client, through whom we have developed a reputation for delivering a high quality service, and an exemplar HSE performance.

 “Our team accelerated work on the Griffin project and completed their involvement two months ahead of schedule. We are looking forward to taking the experience and knowledge gained on this project and using it on the London Array Offshore Wind Farm and other forthcoming work in the UK and internationally.

 “Securing the contract with Siemens to work on Phase 1 of London Array, currently one of the most talked about and well known offshore wind farms in the UK, reinforces the strength of our service offering and the quality of our employees’ skill-set,” he continued.

The London Array Offshore Wind Farm is located more than 20km (12 miles) from the Kent and Essex coasts in the outer Thames Estuary. This first phase of the up-to-1GW farm will cover 100km². Siemens Wind Power is supplying the 175 turbines for Phase One. Each will be rated at 3.6MW, be fitted with the new Siemens 120m rotor and have a hub height of around 87m above sea level. Siemens Wind Power will also provide a warranty and five year turbine servicing contract.

The two offshore substations’ electrical systems and onshore substation work are being undertaken by Siemens Transmission and Distribution Ltd.

The Griffin wind farm is nearly 20 miles north-east of Perth and comprises 68 Siemens SWT-2.3-101 wind turbines with a capacity of 2.3 megawatts (MW) each. Since completion in spring 2012, it is expected to have a capacity of 156.4MW – enough to supply more than 80,000 homes. Siemens is also providing services for turbine operation and maintenance for an initial period of five years.

Dawson Energy started work on the project in May 2010. It had a team of nearly 30 skilled technicians involved on the installation and commissioning of the turbines, performing turnkey mechanical lifting, completion and cabling activities.

3sun Group is headquartered in Great Yarmouth, England, and also has bases in Aberdeen, Lowestoft and Oban. 3sun has recently opened a further operational centre in Bergen, Norway to help support ongoing rapid growth and is currently looking at other UK and overseas locations.

3sun Group employs 175 staff offshore and onshore and is currently working on several projects in the UK and Europe. The Group has extensive overseas experience having worked in Europe, Asia, Africa, USA and New Zealand.

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Offshore WIND staff, May 24, 2012; Image: thinkpr