Construction has commenced at Maerdy wind farm in South Wales, after Scottish renewable energy consultancy, SgurrEnergy, supported the project to a successful financial close.
Located in the Rhondda Valley in South Wales, the wind farm will comprise eight Siemens 3.0-101 direct drive wind turbines, each producing 3MW. Total energy output of the wind farm will be enough to power over 13,400 homes and the project will create local jobs during construction and operation.
Velocita Energy Developments is constructing the 24MW wind farm, while SgurrEnergy is providing project management and technical advisory services to the owner and has acted as technical advisor for the pre-construction phase to the project's lender, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) – this included discharge of planning conditions, wind turbine tender evaluation, balance of plant works, scope of works, tender evaluation and noise evaluation assessment.
The project is Velocita's first in the UK. "We are delighted to have reached financial close at Maerdy," said the company's Chief Executive Andrew Lee. "The Maerdy project is well-conceived and developed and has received good support locally."
As lender's technical advisor for BTMU, SgurrEnergy's independent technical due diligence services included a review of the Siemens direct drive turbine and power curve upgrade packages which were new to the bank, and opining on the challenging construction conditions and timescales associated with the project. Now the development has entered construction, SgurrEnergy will continue in its roles to provide all round support across both the owner's and lender's aspects of the project.
"Working together with the client, construction commenced on Maerdy wind farm and the target completion date of March 2013 has been maintained, despite challenging deadlines," said SgurrEnergy's Project Manager, Brian Macdonald.
