Sadly it is not economic to repair Moya, our 25 year old Vestas V17 turbine. There will be a celebration of her contribution to the Findhorn Foundation Community at noon on the Field of Dreams green, Sunday 2nd of August. Please join us.

On June 23rd the new gearbox was installed in Beauty. It is very smooth running and our engineers report that she is now quieter than similar new turbines they have serviced.

The engineers found the main shaft of Moya is broken. This is a major breakdown and we will have to review the future of the turbine. At almost 26 years old, just like an old car, it may no longer be economic to repair our oldest turbine.

Moya is our smaller and older V17 turbine. In the recent high winds, two stall tips have ‘popped’ leaving the tips of the blades twisted in relation to the main section of the blade. This is a protection mechanism to prevent the rotor from turning too fast. Our engineers will need to visit to check things over and reset the tips.

The south V29 has an intermittent fault that is proving hard to trace. New capacitors are expected soon. These may not be the whole solution, however once fitted the engineers will be able to conduct further tests and trials. Until the capacitors arrive Joy will not be turning.

A new gearbox is required in the centre V29 and will soon be fitted. This will involve bringing a large crane through Kinloss Barracks. The timing depends on many things coming together: fair weather, engineer & crane availability and the cooperation of the army and air traffic control.

Moya is running! We invested in repairing Moya and trust that her site will continue to be available for another year. At present Moya represents 25% of our generating capacity because of the breakdowns of two of her big sisters.

During high winds on 28th March Joy (the turbine nearest the barracks) blew electrical components with some force. Replacements are on order and we hope to have Joy turning again soon.

A week later gear oil was found at the foot of Gratitude (the turbine nearest the sea). Gear boxes are costly and Gratitude has been shut down as a precaution pending full investigation today.

Beauty is the turbine at the heart of the cluster. Though running, she is making more noise than in the past. A new gear box is on order and will probably be fitted in May. This is a major repair requiring a large crane, fair weather, access with the kind co-operation of our neighbours at Kinloss Barracks and co-ordination with flight planning at RAF Lossiemouth.

The current breakdowns mean that the ORIGIN project is forecasting much lower renewable energy availability than might be expected on windy days. We look forward to returning to full generating capacity as soon as possible.

We are delighted to say that Findhorn Wind Park has joined the Energy4All ‘family’ of co-operatives.

The National reports that wind power produced 107% of Scottish domestic electricity demand in November. Renewables are now the largest source of Scotland’s electrical generation.

‘Beauty’: The engineers found another problem and have made a temporary repair. They will complete the repair when they are next passing close to Findhorn.

‘Moya’: There is a problem with sheared bolts and some wear to other parts as a result. We are awaiting a quote to see if it viable to repair the turbine.