Project information Pack

Renewable Energy and Wind Farm Development

With the rapid depletion of fossil fuels in the globe today, there has been a change in emphasis toward renewable energy. Fossil fuel reserves are fast diminishing, particularly in the United States, which consumes up to 25% of the world's total energy annually. Solar energy, wind energy, and fuel cells are currently available renewable energy sources. This document is a project information bundle for the development of a wind farm. A wind farm is a collection of wind turbines positioned in an open and expansive area with the purpose of producing power. The wind farm will be located in Glinffer breas on a 2 square acre piece of land. After completion of the project, 20 wind turbines will be in operation, and generating power for the national grid. The main aim is to have the windfarm generate up to 20 megawatts on completion. The construction site has already been cleared and levelled to give way for initial construction activities. All the construction and legal requirements have also been met. A land survey and wind measurements have also been carried out to give way to the construction of the wind turbines.

Interested Parties and Project Timeline

Interested parties to the project include the general public, who are the beneficiaries of the produced Joseph. Other interested parties include the Scottish government, which is the client in this case; Hayes is the hired contractor, responsible for the completion of the project; Scottish power; MSPs, and the Renfrewshire council. The project is scheduled to start on 15th November, 2017, and to be completed by 4th April, 2017. Some of the most important dates in the project includes, the foundation and trench excavation date, which will take place on Thursday 8th February, 2018; the electrical installation date on Thursday 13th December, 2018; the off-line testing date on Thursday 17th January, 2019; and finally, the connection to national grid date on Thursday 21st March, 2019.

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Method Statement

Construction of access roads

The construction of access roads is necessary before the operation of setting up the wind turbines begin. Access roads connect the wind turbine site to the existing main roads. The roads are usually unfinished roads constructed with processed gravel and other stabilizing materials. The construction of these access roads is necessary as they enable large vehicles used in transporting parts and machinery to be used. The roads must be wide enough to allow easy travel of the large vehicles. These vehicles carry heavy loads, which include parts of the wind turbine and cranes to be used in erecting the turbines. Therefore, the roads should be made strong enough to support loads of up to 30 tonnes. This will help in reducing the impact on the environment, and avoiding additional costs resulting from delays in transport.

The design of the gravel roads should be based on the maximum loads transported by the vehicles. Factors to take into consideration during the design phase include serviceability, seasonal damage, base layer, the climate of the region, and the allowable maximum rutting depth. Other issues to consider include the slopes and slit fences to counter erosion caused by running water, elevation of the roads, among others. The initial construction and levelling of the access roads would signify a start of the process, which would enable an inspector to note the start of the process. The construction of these roads entails laying of several layers of gravel separated by a different material, in most cases a geotextile separator is used. Laying of the top gravel layers and construction of slopes and slit fences would signify a completion of the process.

Hiring of local crew

Hiring of local workers is a time-consuming process that will involve selection, recruitment, and training of individuals from the Glinffer breas area. This will involve hiring of skilled workers who will assist in the technical areas of the project. Non-skilled workers will also be required to help in other non-technical activities, such as the clearing and construction of access roads. A team representing the management will carry out the selection and recruitment process for various positions. Skilled and non-skilled individuals interested in assisting in the work will be required to submit their credentials, highlighting their experience levels if any. The conduction of interviews will signify a start of the process.

After the recruitment and selection of employees, the next process will be the training of the selected team. The process will be conducted by various experts, focusing on the operation of machinery. It is at this point that ground rules are established and each individual is assigned an area of work. Filling of all the available positions will signify an end of the hiring process.

Transportation of Equipment

The delivery of equipment such as parts used in the construction of the wind turbines, and the machinery that will be used, will involve transportation through major roadways to the access roads. Some of the roads will require modification to allow the construction and delivery vehicles to access the wind farm location. For instance, construction vehicles may require a large turning radius, especially at intersections. The transportation process will be labour intensive and time consuming due to the large sizes of the components used to make up the wind turbine. The process will start with the loading of these components to trucks for transportation. After loading of the components, the travel will travel to the construction site at extremely low speeds. The low speed is necessary as the trucks used to carry the components are twice as long and heavy as a typical trailer truck.

Several trucks taking multiple trips will be required to transport all the components for the 20 wind turbines. Each wind turbine may require a single truck to take up to eight trips to transports all the required components. Road closures and traffic re-routing will be necessary to give way to the large trucks. This will require high level coordination between the highway authorities and the project developer. The arrival of all the components for the twenty turbines that are to be constructed will mark an end of the process. Apart from the equipment, transport for the personnel should also be catered for in advance to allow smooth running of operations. Special vehicles will be used to transport personnel to and from the construction site.