Energy / Accommodation barge no longer required, wind turbine company says
PLANS to house Viking Energy wind turbine workers on an accommodation barge in Lerwick have been dropped.
A spokesperson for turbine company Vestas said this was because space has now been guaranteed at the Sella Ness accommodation camp instead.
In November SSE Renewables confirmed to Shetland News plans to bring a floatel to Lerwick for workers erecting turbines, with more than 200 staff expected in the isles at the peak.
The first turbines are due to be installed on site at the end of March, with parts already being stored in Lerwick after being shipped to the port.
But a Vestas spokesperson said on Thursday: “We have cancelled the barge solution as the Sella Ness accommodation, already established on the island, was able to ensure rooms for our teams.”
Accommodation barges are no strangers to Shetland, with a number used for example during the construction of the gas plant in the 2010s.
Convoys of lorries taking turbine parts from Lerwick to the wind farm site in the Central Mainland will begin early next month.
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