Many questions about the environment, wildlife, archaeology and the like have been answered in the Environmental Statement and Non-Technical Summaries of both the onshore and offshore components of the project. These are additional questions received from the community since consent for the project was achieved. To view these documents, please click here.

 

Construction

 

How many people will be employed in the local area during construction, and in the longer term?

Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm will provide many opportunities to boost the local Norfolk economy - through the provision of jobs, the purchase of goods and services and possible ongoing tourism impacts. There will be local opportunities both during construction and in the longer term in relation to operation and maintenance of the wind farm. It isanticipated the wind farm will create around 40 permanent jobs.

 

Will there be a lot of disruption?

Work onshore began in June 2009 with the installation of the cable and the construction of a new substation. The cable is primarily being installed across arable land and the contractor, Carillion, has been very aware of the need to minimise disruption. Directional drilling will be used at key landmarks as well as at road crossings to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.

Offshore the work will mainly impact the other users of the sea, fishermen. Negotiations to pay disruption payments during the construction period have been completed with a number of fishermen who fish the site and along the export cable corridor. Negotiations are continuing with other fishermen and it is anticipated that they will be completed in good time before the first foundation is installed.

 

Local involvement

 

Will Scira have any involvement with the local community?

The wind farm will be part of the local community for many years so the company plans to contribute or play an active role in relevant
community-based projects likely to be of lasting benefit. A number of smaller local sponsorships have already been undertaken including the rejuvenation of Plumstead Parish pond, the Greenbuild sustainability event and upgrade to the Wells Coastwatch lookout. The project will be opening a Wind Energy Visitor and Education Centre in the Sheringham museum, The Mo - A place for people and boats - where visitors can find out more about wind energy in general and the Sheringham Shoal wind farm in particular. As well, Community Trust Fund will be established which will provide grants to organisations and activities demonstrating a local benefit in the key areas of climate change, environment and sustainability.

 

How can my business get involved?

Local businesses registered their interest in working with the project at two successful Supplier Seminars - in Sheringham and Wells - and via a registration process coordinated by the North Norfolk Business Forum. The result of this was the first edition of the Suppliers Directory which can be downloaded here. If you have a local business and missed registration for this edition, please fill-in this form so you can join the database. (form to be sent back - linked to ‘business opportunities page)

 

How do I apply for a job with the wind farm?

People wishing to register an interest in working with the operation and maintenance base out of Wells can send their CV to info@scira.co.uk or, specifically for wind turbine technician roles, to Nia Ogara at Siemens,

wind.recruitment.swp.gb@siemens.com.

To apply for work with key contractors during the construction period, CVs should be sent to:
     - Siemens, wind.recruitment.swp.gb@siemens.com
     - MT Hojgaard, Frida Persson, fpe@mth.dk
     - Visser & Smith Marine Contracting (Seabed Power), Jan van der Velde, j.vd.velde@seabedpower.com

 

Operation

 

Will the wind farm be visible from the North Norfolk coastline?

The wind farm will be visible on the horizon from key viewpoint locations along the North Norfolk coastal edge for about 60%
of the time - but only when atmospheric conditions are clear. To get an idea of what the wind farm will look like from the nearest point to land it is most accurate to compare it with an existing wind farm. For example, for Norfolk residents, the distance from Sheringham town to the wind farm is the same as the distance from Hunstanton to the Lynn & Inner Dowsing Wind Farms so will have similar visibility. To see a computer-generated visualisation, please click here.

 

What percentage of time will be turbines be available to produce energy?

The availability of the turbines will depend on how the turbines are operated and maintained. Experience from the wind industry has shown an availability of around 95%. By using the partners’ experience from offshore operation and maintenance of hydro power plants, we hope to improve this measure for the Sheringham Shoal Wind Farm.

 

How do the turbines re-start once the wind dies down?

The wind turbines operate automatically, self-starting when the wind reaches an average speed of 3–5 metres per second (m/s). The
output increases with the wind speed until it reaches 13–14m/s. If the average wind speed exceeds the operational limit of 25m/s, the
turbine stops. When the wind drops back below the restart speed, the safety systems reset automatically.

 

Why can the turbine mechanism not be geared to allow the blades to still turn (albeit more slowly) in high winds?

Wind turbines are developed to produce the maximum energy yield at minimum cost. Theoretically, it is possible to have a wind turbine that always produces power: a very high tower and a very small rotor that rotates in even the faintest breeze. However, the energy yield would be very small for such a turbine. Similarly, a very strong turbine with a very large rotor would allow maximum power production during a year’s worst storm, but it would be standing still during the rest of the year. The optimum is in-between these two extremes: a wind turbine that generates quite some power during most of the year, a lot during strong winds, and nothing during the worst storms to keep the turbine affordable.

 

When the wind turbines restart during an increase in wind speed how are they synchronised with the grid before the circuit breaker/s concerned close?

The 88 wind turbines to be used on the wind farm are Siemens 3.6 MW.
The electrical concept is the reliable a-synchronous, squirrel cage generator without slip rings. The generator is grid connected through a full power electronic convertor (AC-DC-AC) and operates at variable speed, fully decoupled from the system frequency. The sequence described above is called the cut-in sequence (wind speed increases to 3-5 m/s) and is managed by the wind turbine controller, where the power electronics allow the complete control of the active and reactive output of the turbine. This controller automatically synchronises the turbine
with the grid.

 

What is the projected life of the wind farm and what would the reasons be for the wind farm to be dismantled?

The lease period for the wind farm is 50 years. As part of the consent, it is agreed that the project owner will remove the wind turbines and all associated equipment above the ground at the end of the wind farm’s lifespan. Continuing developments in offshore wind technology are expected to extend the operational life of wind turbines at sea, so that they may be maintained beyond this lifespan. However, this will be up to UK authorities to decide.

 

Will the electricity produced be used by Norfolk residents?

The electricity produced will be transported to a new substation at Salle, near Cawston, and then enter EDF Energy’s regional grid, eventually connecting to the National Grid in Norwich for general use by British consumers.

 

General

 

What is metres per second in miles per hour and why not use the latter?

One metre per second (m/s) is equal to 2.2 miles per hour. The metric measurement is standard for the wind energy industry globally.

 

Why do two Norwegian companies want to invest in the UK wind industry?

Both owners - Statkraft and Statoil - have specific reasons for investing in the UK however together, they see the UK as a key market due to the Governmental support regime, the nation’s significant wind resources – the UK has 40% of Europe’s wind resource - and the country’s future energy requirements.

 

If you have questions about the project you would like answered in the next newsletter please email “Question” to info@scira.co.uk