Borehole Water Supplies for Wind Farms

The SSE-owned and operated Stronelairg Wind Farm, near Fort Augustus was completed in December 2018 and is one of the largest in Scotland, with 66 turbines creating an output of up to 228MW. Located 600m above sea level, the wind farm is approximately 10km from the nearest public road.

During its construction, HighWater was contracted by RJ McLeod to establish a water supply to serve a “workers’ camp” located at the wind farm site. The performance requirements were demanding – the water supply had to be capable of providing water to 100 showers all in use at the same time! HighWater’s solution combined drilling a successful borehole water well to provide the water, with an insulated 40ft shipping container to house the necessary water treatment, storage and pressurisation equipment. The benefit of this approach was that the container could be fitted out and tested at our Nairn workshop prior to delivery to site, thereby eliminating the requirement for our engineers to have to make the lengthy journey to the wind farm site each day. The installation is also easier to remove from site on the completion of works, as per contractor requirements.

As part of the same project, HighWater drilled and installed two boreholes for providing water for concrete batching, and a further borehole for the welfare facilities in the permanent substation.

Ryan Maclean, Agent, RJ McLeod (Contractors) Ltd

It is my pleasure to recommend the services of Highwater (Scotland) Ltd.

I have worked with Richard and the team on various contracts over the last 7 years where they proved to be efficient, knowledgeable and punctual. With the experienced team, they were able to offer some vital solutions during difficult construction works.

I would have no hesitation in recommending the services of Highwater (Scotland) Ltd and look forward to working with them again in the future.

The Clyde Wind Farm, situated between Biggar and Moffat, became operational in 2011; at that time it was one of the largest single consented wind farms in Europe. In 2014, SSE was granted consent to construct a 54-turbine extension to the wind farm. Jones Bros Civil Engineering was awarded the contract to undertake the enabling work; they engaged HighWater to establish borehole water wells for the following purposes: 2 boreholes for concrete batching, 2 boreholes for the site welfare facilities and 1 borehole for the permanent operations building.

Eryl Evans, Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK

We have worked with HighWater on a number of projects and had no hesitation in engaging them to assist with our works at Clyde Wind Farm. HighWater were involved in drilling and installing (and carrying out the ongoing maintenance works) of numerous boreholes for our concrete batching plants, site compounds and also for the permanent Control Building/Substation. HighWater have always proved to be a reliable contractor with knowledgeable and experienced staff who are happy to accommodate our requirements. I look forward to working with the HighWater team in the future and would recommend them to anyone looking for a reliable contractor in this field.

SSE’s Achany Wind Farm, located near Lairg in the Scottish Highlands, became operational in 2010. When it was first commissioned it used a rainwater harvesting system to provide water to the operation building’s welfare facilities. However, this system proved to be unreliable - during dry weather, no water was available.

HighWater was engaged by SSE in 2014 to establish a borehole water well to replace the rainwater harvesting system. The installation was completed successfully, and the new system commissioned in 2015.