Three steps to build a wind farm (original) (raw)

Take a tour of Harland and Wolff's docks in Belfast with science correspondent David Shukman as the turbines prepare for their journey out to sea. To experience the sheer scale of the turbines, explore the zoomable image below.

Journey's start

A close-up look at colossal wind turbines in a dockyard in Cumbria before they are shipped out to sea.

Science correspondent David Shukman gets up close to some of the world's largest wind turbines

Crane driver, 100m up

Crane driver Robert Chiles talks about being responsible for moving enormous wind turbines around a dockyard.

Science correspondent David Shukman talks to crane driver Robert Chiles, the man in the hot seat, as the colossal turbines are moved around the docks

The workers

The installation of the completed Ormonde wind farm off the Cumbrian coast took over 1.6 million hours of work

Rotor hub

The hub sits at the centre of the 126m-diameter rotors, and holds the delicate structure together
The view of the inside

Flat-pack turbines

Science correspondent David Shukman takes a look at how a wind turbine is prepared for its journey out to sea.

All the parts of the giant turbines are present and correct as David Shukman describes the final preparations before heading out to sea

The mighty sea jack

The sea jack can transport two whole turbines out to sea in a single journey
At over 90m long and 33m across the sea jack can carry between 1,500-2,500 tonnes of cargo
The sea jack's journey to the Cumbrian coast is nearly 200km