Wind-power turbine installed for ice-cream manufacturer

Scottish M&E contractor Hydro Contracting has been awarded a turnkey contract by luxury ice-cream manufacturer Mackie’s of Scotland to install a 650kW wind turbine at a factory on its dairy farm in Inverurie, near Aberdeen. Hydro Contracting has been appointed as the principal contractor for the project, which involves all the design work associated with the turbine, installation of 11kV switchgear and reconfiguration of the existing electrical distribution system.

As part of the contract, the company will also fit 11kV control cables connected to a computer terminal in the factory to allow the owners to dial up and check the level of energy generated by the turbine. The civil works for the project include modifications to access tracks on-site, installation of the turbine foundations and some off-site roadworks to make transportation of the 44m-high turbine easier.

“Managing the environment is an important objective of the farm,” explained Karin Hayhow, marketing director of Mackie’s. “Once the turbine is up and running, we expect to be able to power the whole ice-cream production process using renewable energy.”