Windy weather conditions
The progress on Walney 2 has been dramatically reduced due to windy weather conditions for the last couple of weeks. Heavy winds and high waves have paused the commissioning activities at Walney 2, making it impossible to access the turbines. When the wave height exceeds certain limits, all personnel transfer to the turbines is stopped for safety reasons.

The health and safety of the workforce is of utmost importance, and according to statistics, the rough weather conditions experienced for the last month will occur. However, placing the wind turbines on a windy position is one of the main ideas with wind turbines.

Wave height at Walney 2 on 10-15 December 2011.


 
Wind speeds at Walney 2 on 6-11 December 2011.

70,000 tonnes of armour stones are being brought to Walney site
The first load of totally 70,000 tonnes of armour stones for scour protection has arrived at the Walney construction site.  


 
The stones are supplied from the Stainton Quarry and will be used to armour the turbine foundations for scour protection. The stones will be placed in a radius of 15 metres around the turbine foundation and will reduce the potential erosion of sand and material around the monopile caused by the current.

This work is expected to commence at the end of January.

 
The stones will be temporarily stored on site.

All array cables at Walney 2 placed on the seabed
All array cables, connecting the turbines with the Walney 2 offshore substation, have been safely placed on the seabed, and the cable barge Stemat 82 has de-mobilised. One of the cables still needs to be terminated, but this is also paused due to the adverse weather conditions.