By Allister Thomas
A Kincardine wind turbine, which sits just 10 miles off Aberdeen, is being
towed hundreds of miles to Rotterdam for scheduled maintenance because the
UK doesn’t have facilities to service it.
recently the largest project of its kind globally.
It comes after a repair was needed last year on one of the turbines, which
was also taken to Rotterdam.
Earlier this month Tim Pick, the UK’s offshore wind champion, described the
situation as a “national disgrace”.
Kincardine Offshore Windfarm Limited (KOWL), which operates the
development, had no comment.
Aberdeen firms to repair in future
However, speaking before this latest development, KOWL director Allan
MacAskill told Energy Voice earlier this month that work is underway to
ensure Aberdeen firms are deployed to fix repairs in situ offshore.
This would apply to major component changeouts like blades and the turbine
shaft.
He said: “The idea of towing a machine all the way to and from Rotterdam,
or even from Rotterdam, because we assembled it in Rotterdam, it’s not
sensible for the future. It takes too long. It costs too much and so we
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