Aberdeen offshore wind farm to be 1st with in-tower toilets

The Aberdeen offshore wind farm of Vattenfall AB will soon become the first in the world to have turbines fitted with in-tower toilets, the Swedish power utility said on Tuesday.

The toilets, invented and produced near Norwich by Pegasus Welfare Solutions (PWS), are now ready for transportation to Scotland. They will be installed on each of the wind farm's 11 turbines by two technicians next week.

According to the announcement, not one turbine in the offshore wind industry is currently fitted with a toilet.

Vattenfall says that in-turbine toilets are more than a convenience. They also reduce time lost for toilet visits and minimise risks related to transfers from turbine to vessel. To use a toilet a technician on an offshore turbine would need to climb down 200-metre ladders and embark on to a crew transfer vessel or service operation vessel (SOV). Sometimes there is a need to call the boat back to the turbine in rough seas, the company explains.

The design of the cubicle was completed at the end of 2020 in partnership with the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult. The research centre also intends to test the units at its 7-MW Levenmouth demonstration turbine later in 2021.

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