A new facility that will enable the UK to lead the World in the testing of offshore wind turbine blades has been completed by national contractor Shepherd Construction.

The contractor handed over the 5,700m² steel frame structure to the National Renewable Energy Centre (Narec) in Blyth, Northumberland. The project is the second of three structures to be completed at Blyth as part of a £80 million + investment by Narec in world-class facilities for the accelerated testing of offshore renewable energy technologies.

The new Blade Test Facility will be the largest in the world and has been designed to test the longer blades being developed for larger offshore turbines. It will add significantly to Narec’s existing capability for testing blades up to 50 metres in length.

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Constructing the unique building, which is 123 metres in length (slightly shorter than

Gateshead’s Millennium Bridge at 126 metres), has itself been a complex engineering feat. The project, however, has also involved building the test hub that will support the blades during testing.

Shepherd Construction has worked extremely closely with Narec and the project team to find an engineered solution that would withstand the forces applied during testing and the vibrations that will be created.

The result is a test hub comprising a 15-metre high concrete superstructure with two huge rings. The top ring of 8m diameter is designed to accommodate the testing of blades up to 100m. The smaller bottom ring will accommodate blades of smaller root diameter. The hub arm includes substantial foundations.

To achieve the exact position of the rings within the concrete structure 216 post-tensioned bars have been cast in to extremely tight tolerances of +/- 3mm. Special winches fixed to 132 circular steel rings in the floor have also been manufactured and will be used to flex the blades during testing.

Turner & Townsend provided both project management and cost management services, and were employed by the design team.

(CD/GK)