Acting as owner’s engineer on behalf of Renewable Power Capital (RPC), Natural Power, the leading renewable energy consultancy and service provider, has overseen the construction phase of all three Project Magna onshore wind farm sites in Finland, constructed by OX2 and celebrating their official opening this week.
Merkkikallio, Puutikankangas and Rustari wind farms collectively form RPC’s Project Magna – a 170.5MW portfolio capable of producing enough clean energy for the equivalent of approximately 118,000 households.
The Merkkikallio and Puutikankangas developments utilise hybrid turbines where the towers are part concrete and part steel, not only enabling a tip height of 240m to maximise wind yield, but also to help protect against the steel market price volatility.
Acting as owner’s engineer on behalf of RPC, Natural Power has overseen these three developments from design review and start of civil infrastructure, cable installation and foundation construction, through to transition from the balance of plant contractor to the turbine supplier, and on to take-over of each wind farm.
Richard Murrell, Senior Construction Project Manager at Natural Power, said: “Whilst the build came with numerous challenges, from harsh weather conditions and testing logistics to programme timing and non-standard safety requirements, it’s really exciting to be working on these projects at the forefront of renewable energy innovation, seeing them right through to successful commercial operation.”
Natural Power carried out a variety of on-going critical management tasks at these sites including
oversight of the developer and principal project contractors; monitoring the implementation of governing procedures, construction schedule and progress; forecasting and mitigating project risks; site monitoring service, including health and safety management, quality assurance and verifying the execution of scope; milestone fulfillment and payment applications; and turbine inspections.
About the sites:
- Merkkikallio (official opening 2nd September) wind farm is a 15-turbine, 82.5MW site located in the South Ostrobothnia region.
- Puutikankangas (official opening 31st August) is an 8-turbine, 44MW site located North Ostrobothnia.
- Rustari (official opening 1st September) is an 8-turbine, 44MW site in South Ostrobothnia.
Prior to the investment and construction of these sites, back in November 2021, Natural Power also provided technical due diligence services to RPC for Project Magna.
Throughout the Nordic region, Natural Power has extensive experience having delivered 250 renewable energy projects totalling 23GW of installed capacity across Finland, Sweden and Norway.
When it comes to wind energy, Natural Power has a strong portfolio of work demonstrating service and support throughout all stages of a project lifecycle, planning, building and managing wind farms. From site feasibility and asset management through to site extensions and repowering, the team provides the right advice at the right time to ensure wind farms are safe, compliant and productive. Find out more here www.naturalpower.com/uk/expertise/sector/onshore-wind
