Nocton Fen Wind Farm - construction

Concrete and stone

I have been studying the Preliminary Environmental Information from Vattenfall with some interest.

Concrete

It appears Vattenfall are going to require an estimated 12,927 cubic metres of concrete for construction of the Nocton Fen Wind Farm (Para 4.7.74: Description of the Project). This will involve approximately 2,150 deliveries by HGV, accessing the site from Branston Causeway (Para 10.6.6: Traffic and Transport, also Fig 10.1).

Stone

In addition, an estimated 97,666 cubic metres of rock and stone will be imported from local quarries (Para 4.7.71: Description of the Project). This will involve a further 8,800 deliveries by HGV, which may also access the site from Branston Causeway, as it too will be delivered from the quarries.

As both concrete and stone deliveries require return journeys, these HGV movements can be doubled to 4,300 and 17,600 respectively... the majority of which are within an eight month period too... so Bardney beware!!

However, if you study the Outline Traffic Management Plan - Appendix 10.D, it indicates the non-concrete HGV loads will use the main western entrance off Old Sleaford Rd, Nocton.

Site Access

Vol 3: Appendix 10.D

• Para 2.2.5: 'The wind farm will have two main access / egress points for abnormal loads and construction traffic. During the construction phase vehicles will access the Site from the western, main Site entrance and egress from the Site entrance/exit in the north east corner of the Site (the only exception will be months 4 to 8... when concrete delivery vehicles will be routed through the north east Site entrance).'
• Para 2.2.6: 'A second site entrance / exit is proposed to the north east of the Site onto the B1190 (Branston Causeway). It is anticipated that this junction will predominantly be used as an exit for construction traffic during construction.'
• Para 4.1.1: '... The erection cranes and all vehicles delivering the wind turbine components and major sub station equipment would access the Site...' via the main Site entrance.
• Para 4.4.6: '... Concrete deliveries enter and exit the Site via Branston Causeway but all other general HGVs use the one way system of entering from the west and exiting via Branston Causeway.'

I'm sure all will become clear with the forthcoming Traffic Management Plan when it is submitted as part of the main Planning Application.

Environmental Impact of Concrete

"A major component of concrete is cement, which has its own environmental and social impacts and contributes largely to those of concrete. The cement industry is one of the primary producers of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_concrete

Turbines

The delivery of turbine components require ten Abnormal Indivisible Loads (AILs) per wind turbine (3 x tower sections; 1 x nacelle; 3 x rotor blades; 2 x generator/controller).

This involves 200 convoys to the site, all involving police escorts. The routeing will come via the A46/A15, B1202/B1188 to the Old Sleaford Rd access (Para 10.6.4: Traffic and Transport).

In relation to this, I asked a specific question of Graham Davey last Friday at Vattenfall's Public Consultation event regarding access for the abnormal loads. I was intrigued as to whether agreement had been reached with Beeswax Farming to construct the AIL access road across their land... and was advised the matter is still under negotiation!

Can you make a wind turbine without fossil fuels?

'On average 1 MW of wind capacity requires 103 tonnes of stainless steel, 402 tonnes of concrete, 6.8 tonnes of fiberglass, 3 tonnes of copper and 20 tonnes of cast iron.'

https://carboncounter.wordpress.com/2015/06/11/can-you-make-a-wind-turbine-without-fossil-fuels-2/

How Much CO2 Gets Emitted to Build a Wind Turbine?

'Every wind farm starts with its CO2 abatement ledger in the negative.'

http://stopthesethings.com/2014/08/16/how-much-co2-gets-emitted-to-build-a-wind-turbine/

The embodied carbon dioxide within a wind farm

'Embodied C02 should be included within any turbine feasibility analysis.'

www.esru.strath.ac.uk/Documents/MSc_2014/Couttie.pdf

Acronyms Abound

I am trying to collate a list of all acronyms included in the Preliminary Environmental Information supplied by Vattenfall, to assist others who wish to research these documents. Please click on the link provided. N.B. this is a work in progress as I work my way through all the documentation.