Robin Rigg

Wind Project Site

Title: Robin Rigg

Status:

In Operation

Project Manager:

RWE Renewables (RWE)

Turbine Developer:

Vestas Wind Systems A/S

Website:

External Link

Construction Start:

June 1, 2003

Operation Start:

April 1, 2010

Info Last Updated:

October 1, 2024

Contact:

Umberto Binetti
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Details

Technology:

Fixed Offshore Wind

Project Scale:

Commercial Farm

Turbine Model:

V90-3MW

Hub Height:

80 m

Rotor Diameter:

100 m

Number of Turbines:

Capacity per Turbine:

3 MW

Installed Capacity:

174 MW

Support Structure:

Monopile

Export Cable Voltage:

132 KV

Number of Export Cables:

Physical Site:

Shallow Water (<60m)

Water Depth:

4-13 .

Distance from Shore:

11 km

Country:

United Kingdom

Description

Robin Rigg is a 174 MW offshore wind farm, comprising the Robin Rigg East and Robin Rigg West projects, and was the first commercial offshore wind farm in Scottish waters. It provides enough electricity to power for over 137,000 average UK households and offset around 230,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.

In March 2011, Robin Rigg became the first offshore wind farm to enter the Offshore Transmission Owners (OFTO) regime with the two offshore and onshore export cables and the onshore 132 kV substation being bought by Transmission Capital and Amber Infrastructure. Robin Rigg was constructed by E.ON and is now owned and operated by RWE Offshore Wind.

Location

Robin Rigg offshore wind farm is located on a sandbank in the Solway Firth, midway between the Galloway and Cumbrian coasts in the Irish Sea and St. Georges Channel. It has an operations base in Port of Workington.

Licensing Information

March 2024: Scottish Government, Marine Licence - Scour Protection
January 2021: Scottish Government, Marine Licence - Potential Cable Repairs
December 2019: Scottish Government, FEPA Licence
December 2019: Scottish Government, Marine Licence – Removal of Turbines
December 2019: Scottish Government, Marine Licence - Potential Cable Repairs

Project Timeline

April 2010: Fully Commissioned
2009: Foundation Installation Completed
2008: First Turbine Installed
May 2008: Two Substations Installed
2007: Foundation Installation Start
2006: Offtake Conditionally Secured
2001: Site Exclusivity Obtained from The Crown Estate

Key Environmental Issues

Prior to construction of the wind farm, a Marine Environment Monitoring Programme (MEMP) was agreed and developed in conjunction with the Robin Rigg Management Group (RRMG). The remit of the MEMP was to monitor key uncertainties and record any changes to the physical and ecological environment that may be caused by the construction and operation of the wind farm. Consistent and comprehensive data has been gathered on the diversity, abundance and distribution of birds, marine mammals, fish and shellfish that utilise and function in and around the offshore wind farm site and cable route.

Metadata Documents

Field data-based correlation between scour at offshore wind farms (OWFs) and hydrodynamic drivers (Ludwig 2023)
Responses of Two Marine Top Predators to an Offshore Wind Farm (Vallejo et al. 2017)
Analysis of Marine Ecology Monitoring Plan Data from the Robin Rigg Offshore Wind Farm, Scotland (Operational Year 3): Chapter 1-Introduction and Executive Summary (Walls et al. 2013)
Analysis of Marine Ecology Monitoring Plan Data from the Robin Rigg Offshore Wind Farm, Scotland (Operational Year 3): Appendix 2-Birds (Canning et al. 2013)
The potential influence of Robin Rigg Wind Farm on the abundance of adult and juvenile Atlantic salmon (Thorley 2013)
Best Practice Ecological Analysis Methods for Offshore Wind in UK: Case study: Robin Rigg Offshore Wind Farm – An integrated approach the Marine Environmental Monitoring Plan (MEMP) (Walls et al. 2013)
Analysis of Marine Environmental Monitoring Plan Data from the Robin Rigg Offshore Wind Farm, Scotland (Operational Year 1) (Walls et al. 2013)
Robin Rigg Offshore Wind Farm Marine Environmental Monitoring Plan (MEMP): Ecological Analysis Data (Wells and Shenton 2011)
The Marine Environmental Monitoring Plan (MEMP) for Scotland's First Offshore WInd Farm: Robin Rigg, Solway Firth, Scotland (Walls and Shenton 2011)
Robin Rigg Solway Offshore Wind Farm: Bird Monitoring Programme Report No. 8: construction phase bird surveys October-December 2009 and comparison of construction phase data with previous baseline (Percival et al. 2010)
Robin Rigg Offshore Wind Farm: Mid-Construction Scour and Inter-Array Cable Monitoring Surveys (E.ON 2009)
Robin Rigg Offshore Wind Farm: Before and During-construction Marine Mammal Monitoring (Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies Ltd (CMACS) 2009)
Robin Rigg Monitoring Cable Route Benthic Macro-Invertebrate Data Reports: 2007-2011 (Entec 2007)
Robin Rigg Monitoring Windfarm Site Benthic Macro Invertebrate Data Reports: 2007-2011 (Entec 2007)
Robin Rigg Environmental Statement (Natural Power 2002)

Phase	Stressor & Receptor	Design and Methods	Results	Publications	Data
Baseline	Fish	Trawl Surveys Monthly trawl surveys were conducted in an area surrounding the proposed Robin Rigg offshore wind farm from November 2001 to April 2002. Additional past fish survey data was reviewed.	Complete The most common fish and epibenthic shellfish species recorded between November 2001 and April 2002 were: • brown shrimp (Crangon crangon) • plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) • dab (Limanda limanda) • whiting (Merlangius merlangus) • Dover sole (Solea solea).	Natural Power 2002	No data publicly available.
Baseline, Construction, Operations	Displacement Birds, Marine Mammals	Boat-based surveys Boat-based surveys were conducted on a bi-monthly basis between May 2001 and April 2002. Monthly boat-based surveys were conducted in April/May 2003 and bi-monthly surveys between January and September 2004 (additional survey in July 2007). Construction surveys began in January 2008 and continued on a bi-monthly basis until February 2010. Post-construction surveys conducted monthly for five years.	Complete Common scoter and Red-throated diver were recorded in the survey area throughout the year. The raw data indicates a decline in construction phase numbers compared to pre-construction. The raw data suggests there was no change in Harbour porpoise or Grey seal numbers recorded throughout the three development phases.	Walls et al. 2013	Aerial Bird Survey Data 2001-2002
Baseline	Birds	Boat Surveys Two boat surveys of the Robin Rigg site were completed each month from May 2001. Surveys were also carried out twice monthly for a full year from May 2001 to April 2002. Aerial survey work started in November 2001, further surveys were undertaken in December 2001 and March and April 2002.	Complete The key species identified for detailed assessment during the boat-based surveys were red-throated diver, Manx shearwater, storm petrel, gannet, cormorant, scaup, common scoter, kittiwake, guillemot, and razorbill.	Natural Power 2002	No data publicly available.
Baseline, Construction, Operations	Displacement Fish	Trawl Surveys Monthly trawls of 31 sampling stations in and around the wind farm area were conducted from November 2001 to April 2002. During construction, non-migratory fish surveys were performed for the first three months (then frequency reduced to quarterly). Bi-annual post-construction surveys conducted for three years.	Complete Significant differences were found in the mean fish catch between construction periods, however no significant differences were recorded for epibenthic invertebrates.	Natural Power 2002	No data publicly available.
Baseline	Fish	Data Analysis Data on the abundance of adult and juvenile Atlantic salmon were analyzed to assess the potential impact of offshore wind farm construction and operation on local stocks.	Complete Given the available data and model assumptions, no significant effect of wind farm construction was detected on the abundance of either adult or juvenile salmon.	Thorley 2013	No data publicly available.
Baseline, Construction, Operations	Displacement Birds, Marine Mammals	Boat-based surveys Abundance and distribution data was collected at the Robin Rigg Offshore Wind Farm during more than 10 years of monitoring (via boat-based surveys) to test for evidence of displacement of common guillemot and harbor porpoise.	Complete Guillemots and Harbor porpoises were observed across the study area during all three development phases. The highest observations of guillemots were during pre-construction and lowest during construction. Harbor porpoise were not recorded within the footprint of the wind farm during the construction phase.	Vallejo et al. 2017	No data publicly available.
Baseline, Construction, Operations	Habitat Change Physical Environment	Benthic Surveys and Analysis Benthic grab samples were collected from 100 stations adjacent to the perimeter of the wind farm during October 2001 and February 2002. Bi-annual benthic surveys were conducted throughout the pre-construction and construction phases. Post construction annual surveys were conducted for two years. Data analysis was carried out on sampling	Complete Initial analysis showed a difference between the construction periods, the further analysis showed a change or trend throughout the construction periods. The results of the grab data reveal a shifting around of species for each construction period although Nephtys cirrosa and Bathyporeia elegans are the predominant species throughout.	Walls et al. 2013	2001-2002 and 2007-2011, Robin Rigg Offshore Wind Farm Environmental Monitoring Programme, Benthic Grab Survey Data
Operations	Displacement Fish	Electro-Sensitive Fish Surveys Eight surveys along cable route for EMF fish and fish caught from non-migratory fish sampling.	Complete Three species found in vicinity of Robin Rigg. Number of fish decreased during construction period but increased to almost pre-construction values in Ops Yr1.	Wells and Shenton 2011, Walls et al. 2013	No data publicly available.
Operations	Displacement Birds, Fish	Trawl and Boat-Based Surveys 2 m trawl was towed for 15 minutes at 31 sampling stations in and around the Robin Rigg farm site. Fish surveys were carried out during the baseline, and during construction and post construction periods. Boat-based visual bird surveys comprising of 10 transects conducted monthly or bimonthly, depending on phase. The analytical methodology has been determined by the data available to Natural Power Consultants during and after construction.	Complete The low level of correlation between species assemblages and distance from site for both fish and epibenthic assemblages suggests wind farm presence is not driving change within the Solway Firth. Little evidence has been found for changes in abundance, distribution or flight height of key seabird species attributable to the wind farm.	Canning et al. 2013	No data publicly available.
Construction, Operations	Displacement Birds	Boat-based Surveys Two surveys were completed each month from May 2001 to April 2002. Monthly surveys were performed in April/May 2003 and between January and September 2004. Construction phase surveys began in January 2008 and continued on a bi-monthly basis until the end of the phase in February 2010. Surveys were completed in all months of the construction phase except November 2009.	Complete Little evidence has been found for changes in abundance, distribution or flight height of key seabird species attributable to the wind farm.	Canning et al. 2013	No data publicly available.
Construction	Displacement Marine Mammals	Vessel-based surveys The vessel-based marine mammal monitoring surveys commenced with baseline surveys in February 2004 running through to January 2005, supplemented by further pre-construction surveys in July 2007.	Complete Surveys showed that harbor porpoise continued to be present within the estuary, and exhibited apparently normal behavior, over the period of piling activity. There was no evidence of standings and piling was never delayed by presence of cetaceans near works. Marine mammals are extremely unlikely to have been harmed by construction and any wider disturbance does not appear to have had gross effects, such as displacement from the estuary.	Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies Ltd (CMACS) 2009	2001-2015, Robin Rigg Offshore Wind Farm, Bird and Marine Mammal Surveys
Construction	Displacement Birds	Boat-based surveys The boat-based surveys were carried out between October and December 2009 to provide the construction phase data.	Complete Numbers in the study area during October-December 2009 were similar to those recorded during the 2008 October-December surveys, though with a higher peak count of divers and cormorants, and comparatively low numbers of guillemot. One species new to the surveys was observed during October-December 2009, buzzard.	Percival et al. 2010	2001-2015, Robin Rigg Offshore Wind Farm, Bird and Marine Mammal Surveys