A group of S6 pupils from across Dumfries and Galloway were at Vattenfall’s new South Kyle Wind Farm last month to learn more about wind turbine design and opportunities in the green economy.
The mechanical engineering students were invited to see up close the major components of a turbine before installation, helping inform their own turbine design project which is part of their Foundation Apprenticeship course with Dumfries and Galloway College.
Now in its third year of construction, South Kyle Wind Farm is a 50 turbine, 240MW project north of Carsphairn which has supported hundreds of jobs across the south-west of Scotland.
The seventeen-year-olds – from Lockerbie, Dumfries, Castle Douglas and Kirkcudbright – were invited to South Kyle via Developing Young Workforce, and spent the day with the wind farm’s onsite team learning about wind turbines, site design, construction, environmental monitoring and habitat management, plus details of how future Vattenfall projects in south-west Scotland are also being designed to maximise local opportunities.
Carol Kane, Vattenfall’s Regional Liaison Officer for South West Scotland commented:
“We were pleased to welcome the students to South Kyle Wind Farm and offer them the chance to see our turbine components before they were lifted 80 metres up and into position. It was great to meet so many young people with such enthusiasm and interest in renewables, and we hope their visit helped inform and inspire the next steps in their learning and future careers.”
Caroline Davidson, Programme Manager, Developing the Young Workforce, Dumfries and Galloway, added:
“Developing the Young Workforce in Dumfries and Galloway in partnership with Dumfries and Galloway College and Vattenfall arranged the site visit to the South Kyle Wind Farm last week by S6 pupils from local secondary schools who are studying on the Foundation Apprenticeship in Engineering. The visit was arranged to enhance their learning into the renewable energy sector and in particular, wind turbines. The team at South Kyle took the group on a tour of the site with the young people getting to view the turbines up close as well as learning about how the site was chosen, developed and the considerations required in building a Wind Farm and answered a lot of questions!
“The knowledge and experience gained by the students from this visit will be invaluable both with their studies and future careers. We would like to thank Vattenfall and the whole team at South Kyle for a most enjoyable visit and look forward to working with them again.”
Graham Anderson, Mechanical Engineering Lecturer at Dumfries and Galloway College, said:
“Teaching theory and practical lessons at college doesn’t always make it clear what opportunities lie within the engineering sector but during a recent collaboration with the DWY, D&G College and South Kyle Wind Farm our students got valuable insight into the various types of engineering skills involved while visiting the site. The students saw the importance behind the design of the large blades, to installing the blades. From this one visit alone we now have students who would like to enter the sustainable energy sector and have also signed up for next year’s wind turbine course at college.”
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