Community developments have been an important and significant aspect of the projects in which Green Cat Renewables has been involved in, and continue to be at the heart of the company ethos. Udny Community Wind Turbine, the first 100% community owned renewable energy project (onshore wind) in the UK, was successfully delivered by the GCR team taking the project from initial feasibility to commissioning.
Working with community groups and development trusts we have provided a full range of project support from initial feasibility and planning through to construction and commissioning; and specialist technical advice as part of investor due diligence.
Community projects present various additional challenges to privately owned and funded developments and therefore great care is necessary to manage the risks in such a way that all potential showstoppers are identified and are mitigated prior to significant development expenditure.
Green Cat Renewables (GCR) was engaged by Berwickshire Community Renewables (BCR) to provide development support during the build-out phase of the Hoprigshiels Wind Farm, acting as Client’s Engineer.
The Hoprigshiels Wind Farm project is a joint venture between two charities: Community Energy Scotland (CES) and Berwickshire Housing Association (BHA) who came together to form BCR.
BHA identified that in order to solve the shortage of social housing stock in Berwickshire, they would have to take an innovative approach. In looking at ways to address the issue, BHA embarked on developing the Hoprigshiels wind project – a project located within the local community, to serve the local community. BHA will use the project revenues to build 500 affordable homes in Berwickshire over 25 years – making it the first wind farm in the UK to use project revenues to build social housing. CES are planning to use the revenues they receive from the project to reinvest and support community projects across Scotland.
GCR’s sister companies, Prelec and Green Cat Contracting, constructed the civil and electrical enabling works for the project including: turbine foundations, roads, substation buildings and all internal electrical infrastructure between the turbines and substation.
The project was successfully commissioned in March 2017, ahead of the closure of the ROC programme. The three turbine project is expected to generate just under 25,000MWh annually, enough energy to power around 5,900 households.
Our project managers are aware of the particular difficulties faced by communities seeking to get renewable energy projects off the ground. We understand that community groups are largely supported by available government loans and grants and, as such, there is a need to be as cost efficient as possible to reduce exposure and manage budgets effectively in order to make a little go a long way.
All high risk items and potential ‘showstoppers’ are dealt with first. In this way unnecessary expenditure can be avoided. Our approach is flexible to ensure that the communities’ specific requirements can be met.
The renewable energy industry is a fast paced, ever-evolving market that requires working to tight deadlines and a flexible approach to development. Our experience allows us to undertake work as cost and time efficiently as possible, delivering the necessities in order to meet the requirements of the deadlines.
Gawnsmoss, Cairnhill and Gledsgreen are three 800kW wind turbines built on three neighbouring farms near Banff, in Moray. The three developments, which share a Distribution Network grid connection, are developed by three Community Interest Companies for the benefit of the local community and qualified for Local Energy Scotland funding.
In addition to funding given under the Scottish Government’s Community And Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES), a bank loan was also required to construct the developments. Green Cat Renewables provided Financial Procurement helping the developments obtain loans from Close Bothers while negotiating Power Purchase Agreements for the turbines, and managing an extremely accelerated Meter Operator appointment and meter installation.
Green Cat Renewables were employed by the CICs in late October 2016 to provide project management and client’s engineer services. No work on site had started at that time, and the project required three sets of:
All of which needed to be completed before the Feed-in Tariff deadline at the end of March 2017.
GCR worked closely with the landowner, civil and electrical contractors, turbine manufacturer, DNO and other parties to ensure the successful and timely build and connection of the developments.
All renewable projects come with their own particular set of circumstances such as grid, finance, stakeholders, buildability, noise, resource and environmental issues. We approach what can often be unique challenges, in a pragmatic and practical manner based upon previous experiences and sound know-how.
Garth Wind is a community-led project that sees five E44 class- one wind turbines, with a total generation capacity of 4.5MW, connected to the Shetland electricity distribution network as part of the NINES (Northern Isles New Energy Solutions) project. The developer appointed Green Cat Renewables (GCR) as their Client’s Engineer, which entailed the roles of NEC3 Project Manager and CDM Principal Designer.
The site, which enjoys very high wind speeds, is located on North Yell, one of the northernmost parts of the Shetland Archipelago, and is covered in blanket bog peatland.
The project relies on the Feed-in Tariff scheme, for which final commissioning by early March 2017 was necessary. However, on site works could only commence in September 2016. Under significant pressure, GCR managed the construction of 2km of access road and five cranepads over peatland, and the construction and commissioning of electrical substation, comms infrastructure and the turbines themselves on time, in spite of difficult conditions and challenges.
GCR’s scope entailed managing and overseeing the discharge of planning conditions, the procurement of project funding, the procurement and management of civil engineering and electrical engineering enabling works, the management of turbine installation and commissioning, grid connection, installation of satellite communication equipment and Active Network Management set-up, and the accreditation of the project under the Feed-in Tariff scheme.
Our multi-disciplinary team offers a wide range of development support services from project concept and feasibility through planning, modelling, engineering, due diligence and operational assessment.
Our primary goal is to provide our customers with a unique integrated service package with the minimum number of interfaces with the aim of reducing risk, preventing delays and simplifying the process. This in turn means we can deliver an efficient, seamless and cost effective package of development support.
Green Cat Renewables provided technical advisory services for the procurement of pre-construction finance for the project. With a dedicated and experienced team and established working relationships with funders and their legal advisors, Financial Close to pre-construction finance was achieved in just six weeks.
Green Cat Renewables undertook the full technical due diligence review scope. This compromised overall technical site configuration including component bankability; planning; environmental and site conditions; grid connection; energy yield; construction and operational contracts; and technical review of finances. Technical advice was also provided to support the negotiation of technical contract terms, ensuring a competitive contract and minimising overall project CAPEX to the Community.
Inspections were undertaken throughout construction, and in supporting the small scale and community nature of the project, dedicated snagging visits were also completed on behalf of the funder and Community.
Southill Solar Park was successfully commissioned in November 2016, and will benefit from the Renewable Obligations Order subsidy scheme. Following successful delivery of the technical due diligence review, Green Cat Renewables are now appointed to undertake ongoing operational monitoring and asset management for the site.
A strong base of knowledge and data on the resource available, whether it be wind, hydro or solar, on a particular site is key in order to effectively gauge the viability of a project. This is essential in the current climate of decreasing levels of government support.
Resource yield and data for potential sites is carried out in-house. This can be carried out at any stage of the project to allow investment decisions to be made.
We would clarify any development risk, site options and potential revenues. Many of our community projects have involved CARES funding and we are very familiar with their financial model and understand how their funding and processes work.
As the requirements of each project are different, our Planning and Environmental Team tailor all planning and environmental assessment work to each potential site. We effectively liaise with statutory consultees and stakeholders prior to submission, to agree a scope of work that ensures the best chance of consent.
In addition, project planning risk is highlighted at every stage along with effective, cost sensitive solutions.
Keeping the community and wider public engaged in the process is essential if a project is going to have the support and approval it needs to push forward ideas and get off the ground. We have considerable experience putting on exhibitions, holding information evenings and speaking at Community Council meetings.
Understanding the risk, potential benefits and effort involved in developing community projects and relaying this information to the community is a key aspect of community liaison and engagement.
Our Technical Services Team are industry experts in undertaking energy yield assessments for wind, hydro and solar projects. These provide essential, decision making information during all stages of the development and are tailored to the customer’s needs. Reports are tailored to the particular stage, such as:
Noise assessments for both wind and hydro; and shadow flicker assessments for wind are undertaken in-house at both the pre and post operational stages.
Our Engineering Team are experienced in the management of project construction from the discharging of planning conditions through to the final snagging tests. Having overseen the construction of an extensive range of renewable energy projects we can offer support services specifically tailored to each project and have established good working relationships with key stakeholders such as network operators, turbine manufactures and communities.
The team is supported by our Geotechnical department and sister companies, Green Cat Contracting and Prelec electrical contractors.
Stank Burn Hydro is a run-of-river scheme situated on the slopes of Ben Ledi, in the Breadalbane area of the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park.
Green Cat Renewables carried out the Client’s Engineer role which included: discharge of planning and CAR licence conditions, detailed design, Health and Safety/CDM, technical procurement, contractor management and construction supervision.
The key elements of this project were:
COMMUNITY HYDRO
The Callander Community Develop- ment Trust initiated the development of this hydro project. It was the first community hydro project in Scotland. Initial steps included an assessment of hydropower development potential within the Callander Community Council administrative area.
INTAKE STRUCTURE
The intake, incorporating a coanda type screen, is situated on the lip of a broad corrie area, close to an existing culvert.
PENSTOCK
The HPPE pipeline is 860m in length from intake to powerhouse with a maximum pressure of 16bar.
POWERHOUSE
The powerhouse is a steel portal frame with concrete block infill. The roof is a single pitched design with a grey profiled tin covering. The structure is clad with locally grown larch timber. The acoustic doors insure that sound emissions are kept to a minimum.
The turbine is a Gilkes twin jet pelton machine which has 650mm runner diameter and operates at 750rpm. It is connected to a 495kVA 3 – phase 415V generator.
ACCESS
All elements of scheme can be accessed by existing forestry tracks. No new permanent tracks were required.
Green Cat Renewables (GCR) was engaged by Netherburn West Limited to provide development support during the construction phase of the Netherburn West wind turbine project, acting as Client’s Engineer, having previously assisted the Client with the planning phase of the project.
The Netherburn West project is a joint venture between a local landowner and the Lesmahagow Development Trust (LDT). The Landowner and LDT had already previously worked together on a 3 turbine project which was commissioned in 2015. The Netherburn West project is essentially an extension to the existing project, and utilises a lot of the existing infrastructure including tracks and grid.
The Netherburn West project is the first project GCR have built out under the new FIT regime – with the project securing pre-accreditation in April 2017. Utilisation of existing shared infrastructure was essential to keep costs down and ensure the project was viable.
In our role as Client’s Engineer, Green Cat were responsible for the following:
In addition to our role as Client’s Engineer, Green Cat also provided the following services for the project:
Our sister companies, Prelec and Green Cat Contracting, constructed the civil and electrical enabling works for the project.
The project was successfully commissioned in November 2017, ahead of FIT deadline of March 2018. It is expected to generate just under 2,300MWh annually.
Issues often arise with operational projects and these can result in a significant loss in revenue if not identified and resolved in a timely manner. We offer tailored services to the customer providing a dedicated team to effectively manage the project closely to ensure the project is operating to its full potential and that the maximum return on your investment is achieved.
Green Cat Renewables can be innovative in its commercial arrangements, success fees, Joint Venture arrangements and deferred payments. We welcome the opportunity to create bespoke commercial arrangements that are beneficial to all stakeholders.
