Falklands : FIRS Goes One to One with Glenn Ross MLA
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 25.07.2010 (Article Archived on 08.08.2010)
LC: on today’s programme I visited the wind turbines with power station manager, Glenn Ross. We began in the control room at the power station where Glenn explained the different phases of the wind turbines.
FIRS GOES ONE TO ONE WITH GLENN ROSS MLA
(A Report for FIRS by Layla Crowie (LC) aired on Friday, 16 July 2010)
LC: on today’s programme I visited the wind turbines with power station manager, Glenn Ross. We began in the control room at the power station where Glenn explained the different phases of the wind turbines.
GR: Phase 1 of the wind farm cost £2.3 Million; that included three wind turbines, it included the high voltage link - the 6 miles into Stanley and included the remote control desk here at the power station that we are looking at now. Costs for the turbines have increased per time, so phase 2 has also cost around about £2.3 Million but that will include three fly-wheel units and another piece of experimental equipment with over the coming years. But in total we’ve spent £4.6 Million on renewable energy.
So far Phase 1 has almost paid for itself if you take into account the diesel displacement each year. Last year from the first three turbines we didn’t burn over a million litres of fuel – that’s an average price per litre of about 50P – so that’s £500,000.00 saving. In addition to that there is a depreciation charge to the project. For the first couple of years it was £200,000.00 and last year it was nearly £500,000.00.
LC: And is this desk unique to the Falklands or was it made specifically for the power station here?
GR: It was. I gave the manufacturer a list of demands about five years ago and a few years later they came back with what was possible but it’s not unique any more. It was unique to us when it arrived but I am happy to say there are one or two others. I believe that the BBC power station on Ascension Island now has a desk very similar to ours.
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