Vattenfall has placed an order for the offshore wind industry’s “first” in-turbine toilet.
The Swedish developer is spending more than a few pennies by installing the cubicles in every turbine on its Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm.
Manufactured by Pegasus Welfare Solutions (PWS) with patented technology, the WC’s design was finalised at the end of last year in collaboration with the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, which also plans to trial it at its 7MW Levenmouth Demonstration Turbine in Fife.
The cubicle can be carried and installed by two technicians within an hour.
Inventor Dan Greeves said his solution to the long industry “elephant in the room” issue should be the start of basic hygiene offshore being industry standard.
He said: “An in-tower toilet dramatically improves safety by eliminating the number of 11-16metre ladder climbs to use the toilet on a vessel, it vastly improves productivity saving time in a spent on loo visits to vessels.
“The number one cause of incidents and accidents in the G+ report this year is the transfer of people between a vessel and the asset.
“Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm is renowned for innovation and Vattenfall is a company always looking for solutions and new technologies, so to have an order for a unit for every turbine on the wind farm illustrates we have filled a clear gap in the market.
“Our unit comes with its own water and power supply and take no resources from the turbine.
“Waste is secured in a sealed cassette that a technician fits at the start of the shift and removes at the end and takes it away to be cleaned.”
Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm O&M project manager Mike Herdman said: “This is a gamechanger for the industry.
“PWS came up with a solution and, as our wind farm is a test and demonstration centre of innovation, we are proud to take the lead and be the first to install them on all our Aberdeen turbines to be an exemplar in a global industry.”