20 wind towers of the 60, on Phase 2 of the Gwynt y Mor Offshore Wind Farm have successfully been machined by Reekie’s In Situ Machining Team.  Reekie Machining are currently assisting with essential upgrade work to a further 60 out of the 160 wind turbines that sit off the North coast of Wales, after the successful completion of Phase 1, earlier this year.

Reekie Machining have been challenged to machine various penetration holes, the largest of these  is 200mm in diameter through the tower wall that is 65mm thick, to allow for a new ventilation system.  Within the tight confinements of the wind tower this has required a specialist light weight but powerful trepanning machine tool to be developed to meet the challenge of machining each to ø 200mm x 65mm hole in under 60 minutes.  Through engineering solutions, the on site machinists have a robust system in place to carry out this essential work.

Gwynt y Mor is the fourth largest operating offshore windfarm in the work, producing 576-megawatts.  The turbines tip height is 150 meters off mean sea level.