We took on the ground investigation work for a planned wind farm in Shetland, comprising over 100 wind turbine generators. When completed, the farm will provide power for 500,000 homes, saving half a million tonnes of CO2 per year.

Project Highlights:

• The site has a rich heritage and sensitive peatland habitats, which we had to respect.
• We used the lightest drilling plant possible to minimise environmental impact.
• We employed digital risk management methods to reduce the amount of time spent on site.
• Using helicopter deployment, we greatly reduced ground disturbance, and saved time.
• Despite varying environmental factors, we worked diligently to keep the works on schedule.

Protecting the environment

Despite the remote location, Shetland has a rich cultural heritage, making the site archaeologically and ecologically sensitive. All works had to respect the peatland habitats, which support a variety of wildlife, including nesting birds, lichens and mosses.

To minimise our environmental impact, we used the lightest drilling plant possible, mounted on specially adapted machines.

Managing the conditions

Managing change was an important part of our day-to-day operations, as we were fully exposed to the North Atlantic weather, on unpredictable ground. We had to remain flexible and resourceful at all times – ensuring we always had a plan B or C to turn to, if our conditions suddenly changed.

We worked digitally wherever possible to reduce the time spent on site. Before any works began, we conducted digital ground risk modelling at all locations, as the conditions for boreholes were highly unpredictable.

This digital-first approach helped keep our team safe from the unforgiving environment, and limited our interference with fragile habitats.

Helicopter deployment

We used a helicopter to move personnel, materials and welfare facilities to and from the site. This reduced ground disturbance and saved a great deal of time. Using a helicopter, we could deploy people in under ten minutes from the central base. As opposed to 3hr traverses across rough terrain – or longer on foot.

The result

Large ground investigation projects are not plug and play activities. To succeed on this project, with such varying environmental factors, we took a diligent approach to planning. We allowed enough time to perform every function properly and left ample room for unknowns . This meant we were able to gather the most information possible within the budget and timeframe, with minimal unproductive costs.