By Mark Latham
What is believed to be the UK’s first training centre for onshore wind
farms based around a fully functional decommissioned wind turbine will open
for business in Fife on Tuesday.
At the heart of the new facility at Crossgates, near Dunfermline, is a
recently decommissioned German-built Senvion MD70 wind turbine. In
addition, a 17-metre high tower has been erected to provide training at
height for engineers.
The £200,000 facility has been set up by the Nottinghamshire-based Mines
Rescue Service and will allow the staff of Scottish wind farms to carry out
their professional training in Scotland. Because of the limited facilities
in Scotland, many engineers and safety officials have had to travel to
centres in England to complete mandatory health and safety training.
The Crossgates Wind Turbine Training Facility, which has received financial
support from Scottish Enterprise, will be officially opened by Scottish
energy minister Fergus Ewing. He said Scotland needs to develop a skilled
workforce if it wants to fulfil its potential of being a world leader in
sustainable energy.
The Fife facility will equip engineers with all the necessary expertise to
work safely and effectively with onshore wind turbines, and will provide
training courses, accredited by RenewableUK and the Global Wind
Organisation, on topics including working at height rescue, fire awareness
and first aid.
The new Crossgates facility will be the second of the company’s turbine
training facilities dedicated to the wind energy sector. For more than 100
years, the company’s Scottish division specialised in the rescue and escape
of mineworkers from underground, but has restructured following the closure
of Scotland’s last deep coal mine at Longannet in 2002.
Mines Rescue Service now offers a range of health and safety related
products and training, and safety services. It employs more than 150 people
at six sites across the UK.
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