The progress on Walney 2 is still dramatically affected by the windy weather, which has lasted for several months. The commissioning of the turbines requires a number of technician visits to each turbine in order to secure all settings and that communication is in a proper order.
For safety reasons, the visits are generally restricted to take place at a significant wave height below 1.2 metres, provided the wind and current are acceptable; however, during last couple of months, the weather windows, where personnel transfer to the turbines is possible, have been very limited.
According to statistics, offshore activities in the winter are more unlikely than in the summer months, but this winter has been much worse than the statistical average.
Statistically the wave should be above 1.5 metres approx. 30 percent of the time in December. December 2011 this has been the case in approx. 75 percent of the time.
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Offshore WIND staff, January 23, 2012; Image: dong energy