Renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies play an essential role in the global energy transformation. In this satellite communications project, we proudly support the people of North Yell (a small community with big ideas) by providing reliable connectivity between the Garth Wind Farm and the termination point.
Background
Garth Wind’s renewable energy project was set up entirely by members of the local community on the Shetland Isle of Yell. Its five turbines, with a total generation capacity of 4.5MW, giving one of the northernmost parts of the Shetland Archipelago a chance to generate power, reduce carbon emissions and create jobs for local people. All profits, made from selling excess energy back to the national grid, are reinvested into local community projects.
In case you are wondering, where are the Shetland Islands? Lying roughly 100 miles off the north-east coast of Scotland, the islands separate the Atlantic Ocean, on the west, from the North Sea on the east. They are located between Great Britain, the Faroe Islands and Norway.
Requirement
Garth Wind already had a SCADA-based control network in place, providing connectivity between the wind farm in North Yell and the SSE plc substation termination point located in Lerwick (SSE plc is a multinational energy company). However, they had faced some challenges with the previous supplier of the system and the support provided and were keen to utilise some local resources to help in supporting the network.
Solution
Our team here at MMX has successfully taken over the support of the network for Garth Wind. We are responsible for managing the secure satellite connection between the wind farm and the substation on an ongoing basis, creating opportunities to optimise wherever possible.
The project is especially exciting as we have provided training to build local skills and expertise for assisting in supporting the project. Meaning the wind farm operator now has local engineers on hand (all qualified for the job) with immediate access to hardware spares. Ready to provide first-line maintenance services on the island if required. Giving control to the community of North Yell and contributing to the local economic development.
Photos from the project
Here are several photos captured from the site at Lerwick and Garth Wind.
Results
By choosing to team up with us on this project, Garth Wind is assured of secure and reliable satellite communications to control their wind farm and drive operational efficiencies that help to reduce the demand for fossil fuels.
The sophisticated hardware on the system is part of the Global Invacom product range, which MMX is a partner for. As part of the project, we completed a site visit to review the network and upgrade all the existing software on the system. This has enabled Garth Wind to manage energy demand more effectively and strengthen energy security. Reliability has been enhanced further with our training of the local engineers who form an important part of efforts to build skilled local supply chains in the region.
“MMX have improved our satellite communication network on all levels, supporting us as a community to ensure this critical part of the energy generation project runs smoothly. Thanks to their support we’ve been able to increase production, and upskill local engineers to help in supporting the project.”
Andrew Nisbet, Garth Wind
More information
For help with your satellite comms network, or to discuss any of the topics raised in this case study, we would love to hear from you.