I hope this isn't a vision of the future

**ducati** · 19-Aug-10, 08:42

http://forum.caithness.org/showthread.php?t=118439

Contracts for Pentland Firth tidal power projects involving: Norway, Fife and Orkney

**orkneycadian** · 21-Aug-10, 03:50

I hope it is!

**ducati** · 21-Aug-10, 07:50

Originally Posted by orkneycadian

I hope it is!

Yes, I suppose you do, Mr Johannsvensonson

**Kodiak** · 21-Aug-10, 16:08

Originally Posted by orkneycadian

I hope it is!

I agree as it al sounds good to me

**redeyedtreefrog** · 21-Aug-10, 17:51

Yeah I'm all for clean energy, where better than the Pentland Firth for tidal?

**ducati** · 21-Aug-10, 18:58

Originally Posted by redeyedtreefrog

Yeah I'm all for clean energy, where better than the Pentland Firth for tidal?

I think you may have missed the point

**_Ju_** · 21-Aug-10, 19:18

The point being that it is a cooperation between several countries, which you see as a weakness and a conceeding of UK's absolute rights over the tidal powers of the Pentland Firth?

Yes, because cooperation has never been the motivator of develpoment, scientific or otherwise. (dripping in irony).

**Rheghead** · 21-Aug-10, 20:03

Who would ever agree to the massive industrialisation and environmental damage of the tranquil coast of our Caithness for the sake of greedy developers who are just out for massive subsidies and a variable energy source that needs back up from reliable sources?

**Phill** · 21-Aug-10, 20:51

It is interesting that with the wind down of Dounreay and the fabrication & manufacturing base we have here were gonna import underwater windymills rather than make them.

But then we buy in the windymills so why should it be any different hey.

**ducati** · 21-Aug-10, 22:08

Originally Posted by _Ju_

The point being that it is a cooperation between several countries, which you see as a weakness and a conceeding of UK's absolute rights over the tidal powers of the Pentland Firth?

Yes, because cooperation has never been the motivator of develpoment, scientific or otherwise. (dripping in irony).

No. Caithness is missing

**Green_not_greed** · 21-Aug-10, 23:21

Originally Posted by Rheghead

Who would ever agree to the massive industrialisation and environmental damage of the tranquil coast of our Caithness for the sake of greedy developers who are just out for massive subsidies and a variable energy source that needs back up from reliable sources?

No-one in their right mind.

**Sara Jevo** · 22-Aug-10, 10:14

Who and where in Caithness has the capacity or expertise to design and manufacture things this size?

You'd need a yard the size of those that built the things for the North Sea.

**ducati** · 22-Aug-10, 11:52

Originally Posted by Sara Jevo

Who and where in Caithness has the capacity or expertise to design and manufacture things this size?

N.E.S. in Bower and AMEC in Janetstown. Subsea 7 at Wester. There would also be ample sub contracts for all the other engineering companies based in Caithness.

**Green_not_greed** · 22-Aug-10, 13:51

Originally Posted by ducati

N.E.S. in Bower and AMEC in Janetstown. Subsea 7 at Wester. There would also be ample sub contracts for all the other engineering companies based in Caithness.

I presume you mean JGC at Janetstown and not AMEC. AMEC have an office in Caithness, not a fabrication facility.

**Sara Jevo** · 22-Aug-10, 14:03

Originally Posted by ducati

N.E.S. in Bower and AMEC in Janetstown. Subsea 7 at Wester. There would also be ample sub contracts for all the other engineering companies based in Caithness.

How would you move something this size to a launch site? It's ginormous! Wouldn't you need a yard with a basin, like they have at Nigg at Arderseir?

I'd love to see the work done locally. But that needs local companies to go compete with the yards already in production. And it hasn't happened with the windmills.

**ducati** · 22-Aug-10, 21:12

Originally Posted by Green_not_greed

I presume you mean JGC at Janetstown and not AMEC. AMEC have an office in Caithness, not a fabrication facility.

I understand that AMEC bought over that facility 2 years ago?

**ducati** · 22-Aug-10, 21:17

Originally Posted by Sara Jevo

How would you move something this size to a launch site? It's ginormous!

In manageble size chunks. Have you seen the size of some of the pipe bundles they launched at Wester?

Great picture, very atmospheric.

The point is there are engineering companies in Caithness that have the capability. They need to win the contracts. I'm sure they are working on it right now.

**Sara Jevo** · 22-Aug-10, 21:30

That's good news - I didn't realise they could build things that big. I hope they do get a chance.

**Whitewater** · 22-Aug-10, 21:36

They have the ability in Caithness. However, they do not have a yard big enough to take the work on, and to build one in the hope of winning a contract would be very risky. Having said that I'm sure that Subsea 7 could adapt to building that sort of structure with with a little help from the Scottish Government. They have certainly constructed some of the largest undersea tubebundles in the world, and after all, apart from the impellers the bodies of the turbines are only large diameter tubes and very short ones at that compared to what has been built at Wester.