By Daniel Cattanach

Published at 11:23, Tuesday, 01 April 2008

A ROYAL Navy veteran, an Antarctic explorer and a marine life conservationist are among the team that will run an offshore windfarm in west Cumbria.

Experts: Members of the Robin Rigg team, including site manager Sally Shenton, front centre ; back from left: Steve Johnson, from Lincolnshire; Colin Beach, from Seaton; Dave Mitchell, from Wasdale; Paul hendren, from Workington and Edward Wood, from Warwickshire. Front, from left: Dave Davies, from Arlecdon; Sally Shenton, from Cockermouth and Jenny Watkins, from Egremont; Monday 31st March 2008:

The squad of 24, working on power company E.on’s £325m Robin Rigg development – which will harness energy from 60 wind turbines 7.5 miles off the coast of Maryport – have moved into temporary offices at the Port of Workington.

They will eventually settle in permanent headquarters on site, currently being built by Flimby construction firm Thomas Armstrong under a £1m contract, and expect to pump more than £2m into the port throughout the life of the project, anticipated to be around 20 years.

Dave Davies, 49, of Murton Park, Arlecdon, is a windfarm engineer with 25 years as an electrical technician with the Royal Navy under his belt.

He said: “It’s an exciting project to be involved in from the start – the fact that we are producing green electricity. This is the first time E.on is going to be doing this sort of thing so everyone’s going to be looking at us to see how we can operate the plant.”

Fellow engineer Dave Mitchell, 45, of Wasdale, has spent the last 20 years in Antarctica, working on expeditions and projects in polar regions, most recently helping to build a research station for the British Antarctic survey. He said: “My wife’s just had our first child so I was looking for work nearer home that also had some sort of environmental impact, so this was ideal.

“I’m also pro-nuclear, having served my apprenticeship at Sellafield, but I think you need to look at all forms of energy.”

Jenny Watkins, 59, of St Bees Road, Egremont, is a part-time business administrator on the project but also the Cumbrian co-ordinator for the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) team, which was involved in the dramatic rescue of Marra the Maryport dolphin. She said: “E.on was already aware of the environmental issues before I came to work here but I put them in touch with the BDMLR headquarters.

“It’s important to me that the wildlife is protected and I believe E.on is a responsible company. One of the things they do is monitor for dolphins and other marine wildlife, so I know they are taking care.”

Standing with her new recruits in front of several massive “transition pieces” – giant metal poles which will be driven deep into the seabed as turbine foundations – Robin Rigg site manager Sally Shenton said: “They are a fantastic team from a diverse range of backgrounds. Dave Mitchell’s experience of the Antarctic will be invaluable in terms of logistics and Dave Davies, with his navy experience of boats and working at sea, will be great. We’ve employed people from Carlisle down to Whitehaven and everywhere in between. These are long term good quality operational jobs and we are predicting a 20-year life. Some of them are down in other offshore windfarms learning the ropes as part of their safety training.”

The crew has also received climbing instruction – to help them handle working at heights on the turbines – from a Kendal climbing centre, and first aid training from Whitehaven and Carlisle St John Ambulance teams.

The windfarm is currently under construction and is expected to be ready for handing over to the operations team around late spring of next year. E.on is planning to hold an open day in June for local firms to find out more about the project and help them win some of the lucrative tenders on offer. Once complete, the windfarm will power about 150,000 homes.

DCattanach@cngroup.co.uk

Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk