Airport comments on solar garden damage
The airport on St Mary's has addressed the recent damage to four PV panels in its new solar garden.
The statement follows concern from residents about damage to the installation in the high winds in the early hours of Sunday (January 26th).
The Airport said: "We can assure all residents that the project underwent extensive scrutiny and followed full due process via the Local Authorities Planning processes and the CAA's project approval requirements, which included the additional safety measures of Glint & Glare and installation Windage studies.
"It is not the first time since installation that we have had gale force winds, with the last Met Office recorded gusts being NW 60 knots. Last evening's recorded data shows a maximum gust of NNW 59.1 knots at 03:00 hrs.
"The project team will be investigating the reasons behind the failure of the fixtures and rectify accordingly. The Airport as always remains fully Safety Compliant & Operational. We trust this clarifies some of your concerns!"
The Council's Acting Chief Executive Craig Dryden said the damage will be assessed and repaired as soon as possible. He also reassured islanders that there will be no impact on airport operations.
Hitachi installed the panels as part of the Smart Energy Islands Project. The airport solar garden is the only standalone site in the programme.
So far around 450kW of solar panels have been installed on the roofs of about 70 council homes, the fire station, the recycling facility and desalination plant, as well as in the solar garden.
>> Read more about the solar garden at St Mary's airport
>> Read more about Smart Energy Islands