Laying the Cable

The issue of the cable to connect the turbine in the field with the meter point in the farm buildings has caused us some trouble. My original budget, based on a 50 mm diameter cable was for about £6,000 supplied and laid. However, because of the distance involved, a much larger 90 mm cable has been necessary. This has cost a lot more money, and has all together been more difficult to lay because it is so much heavier. Including excavation and back-filling of the trench, and the cost of the cable itself, this will come in at nearly £17,000, almost three times my budget. Over the life of the turbine, getting the site right in terms of maximum exposure to the wind will be much more important than the cost, but this will stretch my budget quite seriously.

Last week though, has been highly entertaining. We suspended the cable drum from the front bucket of a Case digger, and pulled it out with the second digger. The interesting bit was getting it through a culvert under the road, but we did manage just about. It was fun though, lots of blokes running about shouting stop, go, stop, go, into their mobile phones and all feeling very important! These were mostly from the electrical contractor who were more used to wiring up lights and power sockets in nice warm houses than running round fields in the middle of the country.