Released January 31, 2012 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) -- Europe's largest planned testing centre for offshore turbines has advanced to the next stage of the planning process despite a high profile campaign by U.S. billionaire Donald Trump to derail the project.
The European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC), located off the coast of the city of Aberdeen in north eastern Scotland, has received 'broad support' from Aberdeenshire Council's Infrastructure Services Committee. The committee has sent its report to Marine Scotland, the government body which will make its final decision on the project later this year. The decision is a victory for project owners Vattenfall AB (Stockholm, Sweden), Technip SA (EPA:TEC) (Paris, France) and Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG). The EOWDC will be designed to cater for up to 11 turbines, ranging in generation capacity from 4 megawatts (MW) to 10 MW.
The centre will also be used to test new types of turbine foundations, cables and grid connection technologies. The project, which hopes to be commissioned in 2013-14, will also be capable of generating up to half of Aberdeen's electricity. Vattenfall applied for planning permission last August. For additional information see August 10, 2011, article - Vattenfall Seeks Permission For Aberdeen Offshore Wind Project.
Billionaire Donald Trump has threatened to pull the plug on a planned hotel, golf and housing development on the nearby Menie Estate in Aberdeen if the project gets the go ahead. Trump claimed the test centre would be an 'eyesore' for his 895 million ($1.17 billion) project, where work was recently put hold until the future of the centre is decided.
"If Scotland is going to be independent, it needs to protect its greatest national treasure, the coastline," Trump argued. "Frankly, I don't understand how they [the councillors] are even considering it. To put it simply and on an even larger scale, it will totally destroy tourism in Scotland and, even more importantly, the great beauty of the Scottish coastline. There is a need for the Scottish Government to establish a national policy regulating the acceptable distance of such turbines from the shoreline. We, therefore, urge Scottish ministers to convene a public inquiry on this application and all other wind turbine proposals that threaten Scotland's tourism industry and other historic sites."
However, Aberdeenshire Council received just 14 letters of objection about the project, but Marine Scotland has received more than 400 letters supporting it.
A spokesman for the EOWDC project, commented: "The committee has decided to go with the views from the two local committees and both of those committees gave a vote of support for our project. We are clearly delighted. We believe the proposal has wide public and business support and we have made a strong case for the economic and environmental benefits. We look forward to hearing a decision on our planning application from Marine Scotland later this year."
View Project Report - 78000313
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
The European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC), located off the coast of the city of Aberdeen in north eastern Scotland, has received 'broad support' from Aberdeenshire Council's Infrastructure Services Committee. The committee has sent its report to Marine Scotland, the government body which will make its final decision on the project later this year. The decision is a victory for project owners Vattenfall AB (Stockholm, Sweden), Technip SA (EPA:TEC) (Paris, France) and Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG). The EOWDC will be designed to cater for up to 11 turbines, ranging in generation capacity from 4 megawatts (MW) to 10 MW.
The centre will also be used to test new types of turbine foundations, cables and grid connection technologies. The project, which hopes to be commissioned in 2013-14, will also be capable of generating up to half of Aberdeen's electricity. Vattenfall applied for planning permission last August. For additional information see August 10, 2011, article - Vattenfall Seeks Permission For Aberdeen Offshore Wind Project.
Billionaire Donald Trump has threatened to pull the plug on a planned hotel, golf and housing development on the nearby Menie Estate in Aberdeen if the project gets the go ahead. Trump claimed the test centre would be an 'eyesore' for his 895 million ($1.17 billion) project, where work was recently put hold until the future of the centre is decided.
"If Scotland is going to be independent, it needs to protect its greatest national treasure, the coastline," Trump argued. "Frankly, I don't understand how they [the councillors] are even considering it. To put it simply and on an even larger scale, it will totally destroy tourism in Scotland and, even more importantly, the great beauty of the Scottish coastline. There is a need for the Scottish Government to establish a national policy regulating the acceptable distance of such turbines from the shoreline. We, therefore, urge Scottish ministers to convene a public inquiry on this application and all other wind turbine proposals that threaten Scotland's tourism industry and other historic sites."
However, Aberdeenshire Council received just 14 letters of objection about the project, but Marine Scotland has received more than 400 letters supporting it.
A spokesman for the EOWDC project, commented: "The committee has decided to go with the views from the two local committees and both of those committees gave a vote of support for our project. We are clearly delighted. We believe the proposal has wide public and business support and we have made a strong case for the economic and environmental benefits. We look forward to hearing a decision on our planning application from Marine Scotland later this year."
View Project Report - 78000313
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
