Once upon a time the Scottish port of Methil, north of Edinburgh, was a bustling seaport and a centre for Scotland’s coal exports. As the fortunes of the Scottish coal industry waned, the port began to fall into disuse as a commercial export centre. But the tide has turned again on the area’s fortunes and replace black coal with the green wind as the economic focus for the future.
Samsung Heavy Industry Company (SHI) is constructing the world’s biggest wind turbine at Methil harbour. The turbine will generate 7 Mw of renewable energy and have a span of 562 feet. Why Methil? Because Methil is close to the area of the North Sea that will have one-fifth of the five thousand new turbines that the United Kingdom plans to build.
Britain is, of course, no stranger to wind energy. As of 2013, it has 3,300 Mw of installed offshore wind capacity in the form of nearly 1000 turbines, powering two million homes.
Maf Smith, who is the deputy director of RenewableUK (a trade group for wind- and tidal-energy companies) said:
“There are opportunities across the spectrum. Service vessels need a port close to the wind farm because of fuel and weather considerations. Manufacturing is significant because it has a long lifetime.”
The government target is to achieve 18,000 megawatts by 2020, adding a projected 60 billion pounds ($93 billion) to the U.K. economy.
The massive SHI prototype turbine will be 120 wider than the infamous London landmark and tourist attraction, the London Eye (pictured below). It should be a great boost for the area’s economy, which has been in the doldrums since the decline of coal; more than 3,000 of Methil’s 12,800 inhabitants seek income support.
Unsurprisingly, the project will also be a shot in the arm for the dock’s owner Forth Ports Ltd (PFL) which is based in Edinburgh. The company has sites in Dundee and the Leith district of the Scottish capital which also stand to profit from wind power. It has been said that the wind industry will impact U.K. harbours just as the discovery and exploitation of North Sea oil did from the late 1960s onwards.
The giant SHI wind turbine prototype will use a David Brown Gear Systems gearbox.
Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond said:
“I am extremely pleased to welcome this inward investment by Samsung Heavy Industries, which further reinforces Scotland’s place in the development of the next generation of offshore wind turbines. Their choice of Scotland as their first base in Europe for renewable technology development is a testament to the fact this country is fast becoming the European centre for research and development in new offshore wind technologies. For Methil to be chosen as the test site for Samsung Heavy Industries’ new 7MW wind turbine is another example of this country’s ability to secure investment from global multinationals.”
Insik Roh, CEO of Samsung Heavy Industries, also commented. He said:
“We are pleased to be participating in the development of the Energy Park at Methil at such an exciting time for the Scottish renewable energy industry. The testing of the new 7MW offshore wind turbine at the Fife Energy Park signifies a milestone in the development of Samsung’s new wind turbine generator system. We hope to contribute to the Scottish economy through successful testing and certification of our cutting-edge offshore wind turbine and ultimately through the establishment of our manufacturing facility here in Methil.”
