December 2011 - Construction Update
The wind turbines at Hill of Towie continue to go up! There are now 11 turbines up. All of the components have now been delivered to the site from Aberdeen Port ready for construction. The varying weather conditions (severe winds and snow) have slowed construction down but work is progressing. All of the electrical work and cabling is now complete and the Grid route has been fully tested and commissioned. Thanks to local contractor I.G Currie Ltd for clearing the snow from the Hill of Towie site!
 |
 |
 |
 |
ACTION FOR RENEWABLES PANORAMA REBUTTAL
Action for Renewables has produced a video rebutting the claims made in the BBC's recent Panorama programme "What's fuelling energy price rises?". The video is presented by the Chair of A4R, Tony Juniper, and can be found below:
16th September 2011 - First Turbine!
The first turbine has been erected today at Hill of Towie Wind Farm!
26th August 2011 - New times for Turbine Deliveries
After reviewing the first week of deliveries and following guidance from Grampian Police the timings of the deliveries have been changed. The vehicles will now leave Aberdeen Harbour at 6am and arrive at the site at approximately 9:30am. Throughout the delivery process RES will continue to review the timings of the deliveries and act on any advice from Grampian Police. The components for one complete turbine have now arrived on site along with 30 blades; RES is hoping to assemble the first turbine within the next week.
17th August 2011 - First delivery to Hill of Towie Wind Farm
The first wind turbine components will arrive today at RES's Hill of Towie Wind Farm, near Keith in Moray. The first consignment of blades arrived by ship last week into Aberdeen Harbour's Commercial Quay, which has recently been the subject of a £4 million refurbishment. Their delivery to site marks another major milestone for the 48MW project, which is RES's largest wind farm in the UK to date.
11th August 2011 - First consignment of blades arrive into Aberdeen Harbour's Commercial Quay
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Photos: Lex Ballantyne, Newsline Scotland |
August 2011 - 2nd Edition Newsletter
Since the last newsletter, we have been very busy undertaking the civil and electrical works in preparation for the delivery of the wind turbines. Find out more in our newsletter (PDF) here ...
26th July 2011 - Turbine Dry Run
On Wednesday 27 July, RES will be undertaking a wind turbine dry run for Hill of Towie Wind Farm. This is in preparation for the delivery of wind turbines to the site in August 2011.
A specialist haulage contractor, Deugro, will drive the route using a specially modified articulated vehicle. The overall length of the vehicle will be approximately 46m to simulate a 40.5m long wind turbine blade. A police escort will come before and after the abnormal load to warn other road users, and direct traffic (where necessary) to enable the vehicle to safely negotiate the route. The dry run will be filmed from a following vehicle.
The vehicle will leave Aberdeen Port at 9:30am and join the A96 via Commerce Street. At Inverurie, the vehicle will turn right onto the B9170 Blackhall Road and left onto the B9001 Burghmuir Drive at the next roundabout. The vehicle will head north on the B9001 and turn left onto the A920 to rejoin the A96. Once through Keith the vehicle will join the A95 and travel west to the site entrance. It is expected to arrive at the site at approximately 11:45am.
The wind turbines are due to be delivered to the site from mid August 2011 and the deliveries are expected to last for two months. The escorted deliveries shall be timed to avoid the rush hour traffic in Aberdeen to help minimise disruption. Further details on the deliveries will be available on the website shortly.
February 2011 - Construction Update
Work on the roads and hardstandings are nearly completed. Construction of the turbine bases will shortly be completed which will allow the installation of the earthing grid and backfilling to proceed. In order to avoid the worst of the winter weather work on the control building and cable laying has currently stopped and will recommence late March. We have erected two met masts on the site near to turbine 13 for site calibration. Turbine deliveries are expected to commence in mid to late summer. We have completed designs and obtained the relevant permits to carry out the delivery route improvements.
 |
 |
 |
 |
13 January 2011 - Construction Update
Construction at Hill of Towie Wind Farm is progressing well, we have been working on the concrete bases for the last few months in preparation for the turbines being delivered in summer 2011. The December snow has slightly delayed progress by a couple of weeks but we should be back on track again shortly. Over the festive period the site was unfortunately broken into and a number of items including a tractor, trailer and generator were stolen. The incident has been reported to the police who are investigating the matter and site security has been enhanced. We will keep the local community fully informed of our plans for the turbine deliveries and we will be sending out a newsletter in the next few months with further information.
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Photos: Sandy Peddie |
 |
 |
 |
 |
18 August 2010 - Construction Update
Work is continuing on the crane hard standings and the foundations for the turbines.
 |
 |
 |
 |
18 May 2010 - Construction Update
The forest access track has been completed and site entrance finished. Four of the crane hard standings have been completed. We hope to start commencing work in the west side of the site in the next few weeks.
 |
 |
 |
 |
24 March 2010 - Construction Update
The site entrance is now largely completed and work on upgrading the access track has commenced. A temporary construction compound has been created with car parking and welfare facilities for contractors. Work has started on the main access track and construction compound.
 |
 |
 |
 |
10 March 2010 - RES announces financing deal for Hill of Towie
RES has announced today a financing deal for its Hill of Towie Wind Farm, in Moray in Scotland. The arrangement with Lloyds Banking Group and BNP Paribas for construction of the wind farm is the first large scale project to benefit from the European Investment Bank Intermediated UK Onshore Wind Scheme.
Press Release...
January 2010 - Newsletter published
A newsletter about Hill of Towie Wind Farm has gone out to over 750 houses around the site to explain our construction plans in more detail. We would be happy to cover any issues in more detail in forthcoming newsletters. If you would like to see anything discussed in more detail, please let us know.
Newsletter (PDF)...