Construction has commenced at Maerdy wind farm in South Wales this month, after SgurrEnergy supported the project to financial close.
Constructors of the project, Velocita Energy Developments Ltd, selected SgurrEnergy to provide project management and technical advisory services to the owner and it was also appointed lender’s technical advisor to The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. (BTMU) to cover the whole pre-construction phase. Services provided on the first stage of the project included discharge of planning conditions, wind turbine tender evaluation, balance of plant works, scope of works, tender evaluation and noise evaluation assessment.
The 24MW wind farm, situated in the Rhondda Valley in South Wales, will be made up of eight Siemens 3.0-101 direct drive wind turbines, each producing 3MW. The 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.
SgurrEnergy provided project management services for the pre-construction phase of the wind farm on behalf of the owner, and technical advisory services to both the project owner and the lender. Now that the development has entered construction, it will continue in these roles to provide all round support across both the owner’s and lender’s aspects of the project.
Chief Executive of Velocita, Mr Andrew Lee, said: “We are delighted to have reached financial close at Maerdy and put into construction our first UK project. The Maerdy project is well-conceived and developed and has received good support locally. We are delighted to be working with construction and banking partners of the highest quality as we deliver on our corporate objective of constructing operating wind farms of the highest technical, contractual and financial calibre.”
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.
SgurrEnergy’s Project Manager, Brian Macdonald, said 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. The team at SgurrEnergy is looking forward to working with Velocita Energy Developments throughout Maerdy wind farm’s construction phase.”
Having worked on the pre-construction phase of the project since late 2011, SgurrEnergy is working hard with the client to achieve a project completion deadline of March 2013.
