Moray pupils energised by Vattenfall STEM workshops

Portknockie and Cullen are the two latest primary schools in Moray to benefit from Vattenfall’s programme of STEM workshops, with over 60 pupils taking part this week.

The engineering themed workshops, held by Vattenfall’s Aultmore Wind Farm team, were carefully designed to help the pupils develop core skills such as team building, critical thinking, budgeting and time-management – and provided pupils with hands-on experience in constructing their own wind turbine models.

Pupils learnt about the importance of transitioning to renewable energy, as well as the types of jobs that exist within the renewables industry. They were also able to step into the shoes of a turbine engineer and experience what it is like to climb up inside a wind turbine with Virtual Reality headsets.

Lucy Blake, Project Manager for Vattenfall’s proposed Aultmore Wind Farm, said: “Vattenfall strives to be a good neighbour to the communities we work in and one of the ways we can deliver meaningful benefit is by working with local schools. Over the last year we have delivered a number of STEM workshops to different schools associated with our Aultmore Wind Farm proposal to help support their learning on energy and renewables.

“It’s been a real delight to engage with Portknockie and Cullen pupils and, with the considerable growth and employment opportunities predicted in the onshore wind industry over the coming years, we hope we’ve enthused some of them to consider a career in the industry and perhaps become the budding engineers of the future.”

Mr Barron, Teacher at Cullen Primary School, commented: “The class really enjoyed the workshop. It was very engaging and good for developing their problem solving and meta skills. The renewables theme is pertinent given the wind farms in the area and feeds in well to the school’s energy syllabus.”

One of the pupils at Cullen Primary School enthused: “I thought the VR headset was really good. Quite cool that it looked so realistic and you could see all of the blades – and the view from the top of the turbine. I also really enjoyed the workshop. I didn’t know much about renewables but now I know much more.”

Miss Mowat, Teacher at Portknockie Primary School, added: “Fantastic real-life learning experience for all – thoroughly enjoyed by both pupils and staff.”

Vattenfall is also working with DYW Moray to explore potential opportunities to support Foundation Apprenticeships with local schools. This builds on the company’s wider commitment to support 50 onshore wind apprenticeships by 2030 from their project portfolio in Scotland, subject to planning consent, with up to 10 of these being associated with Vattenfall’s Aultmore Wind Farm proposal.

A recent study undertaken by ClimateXChange1 reported that, in order to meet the Scottish Government’s target to double onshore wind from 9GW to a minimum of 20GW by 2030, four times more jobs on average will be required by 2027 compared to 2024 to support the construction and installation of onshore wind farms. As such, it’s never been more important to encourage the younger generation to consider a career within the industry.

Aultmore Wind Farm Proposal
Aultmore Wind Farm was originally consented in 2014 by Moray Council as a 13-turbine scheme with tip heights of 110m and an installed generating capacity of 29MW. Since then, significant advances in turbine technology have taken place with more powerful turbines becoming available.
A Section 36 application was submitted to the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit in March 2024 for a redesigned 16-turbine proposal with tip heights of 200m and a generating capacity of 105.6MW. The scheme could generate enough fossil free electricity annually for around 127,000 homes, more than five times that of the original scheme’s 22,000 homes.

More information about the project can be found at www.vattenfall.co.uk/aultmore

About Vattenfall
Vattenfall is a leading European energy company, which for more than 100 years has electrified industries, supplied energy to people’s homes and modernised people’s way of living through innovation and collaboration. We work to enable the fossil freedom that drives society forward. We are committed to building a future where everyone can choose fossil free ways to move, make and live. Our goal is net zero emissions in our entire value chain by 2040 at the latest. We employ approximately 20,000 people, have around 14 million customers and operate mainly in Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and the UK. Vattenfall is fully owned by the Swedish state. For more information: Fossil freedom - Vattenfall.

Vattenfall has been working in the UK for more than 15 years, developing fossil free energy projects. We have grown our wind and battery storage business from one project in 2008 to 13 today. We also continue to grow our power networks business and our heat business, with a focus on London, Edinburgh and Bristol. For further information: www.vattenfall.com/uk.