ArabiaTerra Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 Wow, that's even more than was reported in the Shetland Times. I thought it was £30 million with £10 million of that for jobs/economy, £20 million to Charitable Trust? Even that would be great but when I have the prospective councillor for the North Ward ( who has an impressive background in investment banking, specialising in Charities) telling me that the VE figures do not add up I have serious concerns. From here: Mr Grant said he accepted the validity of Viking’s estimate that it will bring £930 million into the Shetland economy over the project’s 23-year lifetime. He said it was one of very few projects of its type in this country which boasted such a “genuine level of community benefit†in the form of a projected £23 million annual profit to the charitable trust. Of course we'll have to see what difference the revised plans will make, but if they increase the size of the turbines to maintain the 457 MW, then the return could even be slightly higher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArabiaTerra Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 Even that would be great but when I have the prospective councillor for the North Ward ( who has an impressive background in investment banking, specialising in Charities) telling me that the VE figures do not add up I have serious concerns. Any chance you could get said prospective councillor to give you details which you could post here? Or better still could you get the prospective councillor to come here and give us the details him/herself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crofter Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 Mr Grant said he accepted the validity of Viking’s estimate that it will bring £930 million into the Shetland economy over the project’s 23-year lifetime. He said it was one of very few projects of its type in this country which boasted such a “genuine level of community benefit†in the form of a projected £23 million annual profit to the charitable trust. "Projected" Mmm. The following is from Alan Skinner's manifesto: I have 40 years of experience in entirely relevant fields. I qualified as a solicitor with Shepherd & Wedderburn (Scotland’s premier law firm at the time) before moving to Noble Grossart (Scotland’s leading merchant bank) where I was Assistant Treasurer, managing their investments and balance sheet. I then became Head of Citibank in Scotland, dealing with most of the major companies and financial institutions, before becoming Managing Director of Bankers Trust’s global custody business, where we administered £50 billion of investments for major global pension funds. I then became Chief Executive of Morgan Stanley Bank Luxembourg, where I was responsible for £70 billion of investments for pension funds, hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds etc. I have spent the last decade advising family offices, family trusts etc on their wealth strategy and structures. I believe this experience can be of immense value to Shetland, in financial, investment and strategy terms. I feel uncomfortable about Viking because: 1) there seem to be some obvious conflicts of interest;2) I simply do not believe the fanciful profit numbers that are bandied around;3) I feel that Shetland Charitable Trust is risking too much of its portfolio on Viking; and4) the number and size of the turbines seems intuitively too many and too big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairyian Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 Mr Grant said he accepted the validity of Viking’s estimate that it will bring £930 million into the Shetland economy over the project’s 23-year lifetime. He said it was one of very few projects of its type in this country which boasted such a “genuine level of community benefit†in the form of a projected £23 million annual profit to the charitable trust. "Projected" Mmm. The following is from Alan Skinner's manifesto: I have 40 years of experience in entirely relevant fields. I qualified as a solicitor with Shepherd & Wedderburn (Scotland’s premier law firm at the time) before moving to Noble Grossart (Scotland’s leading merchant bank) where I was Assistant Treasurer, managing their investments and balance sheet. I then became Head of Citibank in Scotland, dealing with most of the major companies and financial institutions, before becoming Managing Director of Bankers Trust’s global custody business, where we administered £50 billion of investments for major global pension funds. I then became Chief Executive of Morgan Stanley Bank Luxembourg, where I was responsible for £70 billion of investments for pension funds, hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds etc. I have spent the last decade advising family offices, family trusts etc on their wealth strategy and structures. I believe this experience can be of immense value to Shetland, in financial, investment and strategy terms. I feel uncomfortable about Viking because: 1) there seem to be some obvious conflicts of interest;2) I simply do not believe the fanciful profit numbers that are bandied around;3) I feel that Shetland Charitable Trust is risking too much of its portfolio on Viking; and4) the number and size of the turbines seems intuitively too many and too big. Politican looking for election, but sitting on the fence. 1. States the obvious - but why would this affect the numbers ?2. So he has a 'this is too good to be true' feeling ? Baed on what knowlege ?3. The stated figure is 5% is that too much to invest 'locally' ?4. His intution says it is too big - based on his wind farm investment experience ? All politician speak.Few to no specifics for or against.Those that agree with him will be happy. Those that don't ... well he is NOT against, just has an 'uneasy feeling' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ll Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 I hope the new super efficient windmills are not as good as the new super Sullom Voe tugs. If they empty the piggy bank on this and find they have chosen a model not suited to Shetland's climate, were stuffed. Given the huge percentage of windmill failures in Shetland to date, it would be prudent to try out a few to see how they performed before getting over a hundred of the things? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairyian Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 I hope the new super efficient windmills are not as good as the new super Sullom Voe tugs. If they empty the piggy bank on this and find they have chosen a model not suited to Shetland's climate, were stuffed. Given the huge percentage of windmill failures in Shetland to date, it would be prudent to try out a few to see how they performed before getting over a hundred of the things? Fortunately, SIC Ports & Harbours will not be involved with the VE Project.Care to give some details of the huge failures you mention ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crofter Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 Care to give some details of the huge failures you mention ? Susseter Hill? More recently http://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Snarraness_turbine-W750-250x129.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairyian Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 Care to give some details of the huge failures you mention ? Susseter Hill? More recently http://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Snarraness_turbine-W750-250x129.jpg Susseter Hill was 25 years ago. It was an experimental machine. 25-30 years ago all those machines were one-off experimental. Things have moved on. You can now buy off the shelf with a warranty that it does what it says on the tin. I beleive the picture is of a baby dometic grade turbine 6 KW ?The VE ones will be, as I am sure you know, Industrial Grade arounrd 4000 KW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest posiedon Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 ^ The one on the pier in Aith has been out of action for around 8 months and the one over the hill at Clousta is often horizontal.Both recent installations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crofter Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 @ hairyian ^^ Yes, proven p35-2 12kw broken at West Burrafirth last December. Seems to be a few turbine manufacturers in this size class having problems, but as you say a different breed to the VE machines. What sort of windspeeds are the warranties good for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keetiebairdie Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 I'm sick of the harping on about 'the vocal minority' - the only reason we have to be vocal is because those who have the power to control our lives are not listening, they don't want to, and don't have to. And who says we are in the minority. Seems to me that most of the 'silent' people I speak to, who don't express their views on VE, SIC cuts, etc. are either employed by the council or have dealings with 'big business' in Shetland. Who can blame them for not speaking out loud, objecting to what's going on. Shetland Mafia still reigns. It is past time for a change in the culture up here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crofter Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 2. So he has a 'this is too good to be true' feeling ? Baed on what knowlege ? I do not believe the projections either. Anybody with some spreadsheet skills can project anything they like. The problem is that the assumptions and knowledge used to create the projections have not been made public. I think there are still too many "unknown unknowns" to produce realistic estimates. A basic point - what size of turbines will be used? They say on the VE website that this has yet to be decided. So I agree with Mr Skinner that the whole thing is fantasy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crofter Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 The VE ones will be, as I am sure you know, Industrial Grade arounrd 4000 KW The Shetland Times suggested vestas 4.5mw machines were a possibility. These are relatively new machines, although based on previous designs, first prototypes were built in 2005. From the vestas website, I see they have a tower height of 90 metres and rotor diameter 120 metres, therefore 150 metres total height. What do VE have permission for? Was it 145 metres? Maybe they can saw 5 metres off the top of the towers. Or get retrospective permission for 150 metres. Anyway. Foundation costs and erection costs are increased because of "increased demand for foundation stiffness" and heavier weights / larger diameter towers. What are the other contenders? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stilldellin Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 Anyone know the current output from the Foula wind turbines recently installed at great cost ? What grade were they ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavi Ugl Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 From Faroe..... http://aktuelt.fo/grein/orudd_i_neshaga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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