Renewable Energy
The UK renewable energy market was transformed on 1st April 2010 with the introduction of the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) regime. The scheme means that it is now much easier to calculate with confidence the return on investment for a renewable energy installation project.
Ecodyn has developed a model using the available data to calculate the return on investment for any of the turbines in our porfolio and for any location in the UK. We have detailed performance and cost data for almost any location in the UK and for almost every turbine available which allows us to provide very accurate and comprehensive economic models for prospective sites. We deliver a fully bespoke service, ranging from initial consultation and site survey, through to installation and connection to the National Grid.
Export management and energy storage are becoming an increasingly important part of our renewables work, as grid constraints require more imaginative solutions to integrate renewable energy generation with on-site loads and limited export.
We are able to offer guidance at all steps of the process, which is outlined below:
Consultation
Once we have established your project requirements, we carry out a comprehensive desktop assessment to establish the viability of your project and to confirm the site's suitability for a wind turbine installation. Using a wide range of resources, we can establish whether your project will be affected by designated sites (SSSIs etc.), radar, telecoms, archaeology and so forth.
Site Survey
Once we have established that there are no obvious show-stoppers, we conduct a site survey. This involves Ecodyn visiting your site to ensure its suitability for a wind turbine. We take into consideration site access, conditions, topography and existing infrastructure, as well as anything else that may be pertinent to the project.
Planning
Ecodyn specialises in completing planning applications for wind turbines and have completed them in all regions of Scotland. Each regional planning department operates in different ways and our experience helps us minimise the work required from you to complete the process.
We also complete grid applications for our turbine clients and have extensive experience dealing with both Scottish Power and Scottish and Southern Energy which helps to ensure that your application is complete and so maximise its chance of success.
Ecodyn is able to advise on all aspects of the planning process, including grid capacity study (if required), grid connection application, and screening application. To ensure a wind turbine planning application's greatest chance of success, it is imperative that the supporting documentation is up to scratch. Lack of supporting documentation is one of the major reasons that applications are rejected. (Not that we want to blow our own trumpets too much, but we have never had an application rejected for this reason.)
Installation
Once the planning permission is granted, Ecodyn manages the entire installation: sourcing foundation materials and cables, preparing for and laying the foundations and liaising with the various parties involved until the turbine is operating successfully.
Foundation concrete has to be left for a month to set but beyond that, the duration of an installation depends on the scale, complexity and accessibility of the project, varying from five weeks to several months.
Servicing
It is essential to maintain your wind turbine in accordance with the manufacturer's warranty. Most wind turbine manufacturers will insist on their wind turbines receiving an annual service to maintain the validity of the warranty and even after the warranty period, regular servicing and maintenance are essential to keep down-time to a minimum and production to a maximum.
Ecodyn is a firm of experienced, wind turbine installers; we have installed dozens of wind turbines all across Scotland. We provide servicing, maintenance and repair not just for our own clients but for any turbine owner looking for reliable, professional care of their previous investment. In the small wind sector, we specialise in Gaia, Bergey and Kingspan turbines.
All our teams are trained in working at heights and have undertaken specialist training in the installation and maintenance of turbine systems direct from the manufacturer. We use only approved spare parts and consumables supplied directly from the manufacturer and always follow the manufacturer's recommended servicing guidelines.
What is included in wind turbine servicing?
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Record of monitoring logs, faults etc.
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Visual inspection of all parts
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Corrosion inspection
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Greasing and oil change (if necessary)
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Bolt torque and condition inspection
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Any parts found to be worn due to general wear and tear will be replaced after advising any associated costs to the customer. (A complete set of the normal wearing parts is maintained at all times to minimise the requirement for any return trips).
After the service is complete, we prepare a servicing checklist and provide you with a copy. This is a useful record of any work that was carried out and we retain this on file so that when it comes around to next year's service, we have a good idea of what may be required.
Once your turbine is under our care, we provide the following guaranteed level of back up:
In the event of any fault, phone support is available by calling the main office number. If the fault cannot be sorted over the phone, a site visit will be arranged as soon as possible (weather dependent if working at heights or dropping masts may be required or if ferry services are disrupted.) Call-outs are charged at an agreed contract rate on the basis of mileage, time, spares and consumables. If any fault has resulted from previous work carried out by Ecodyn then of course there is no charge.
Contact us by email on contact@ecodyn.com or telephone 01337 870249 for your service quotation and look forward to total peace of mind.
Energy Storage
There are now very few places in Scotland where the grid is unconstrained, so renewable energy developers have to come up with more imaginative ideas for using power on site. For some years now, Ecodyn has developed on-site energy management, export management and energy storage systems. To date, these have mainly been based on thermal storage which is then used to supply heat to reduce reliance on fossil fuels but we are also working on the development of electrical energy storage systems and alternative transport energy systems.
Much of our renewable energy work is in the western and northern isles, where it is no longer possible to export more than 3.7kW per phase but the renewable energy resources are some of the best in the world, so we have considerable experience of finding sustainable and viable ways of making renewable energy projects work despite these significant constraints.
We have successfully designed and installed export management thermal storage systems for two 65kW Harbon turbines in Knockaird and South Galson, on Lewis and for a 50kW installation on Fetlar in Shetland. We are currently working on two 100kW installations providing heat to community halls and neighbouring houses, one on the Western Isles and one in Shetland, and the largest such system so far which will manage 500kW from an Enercon E-48 on Skye.