NEWS


Wardpower has been bought out by Power Engineering (India)


Green light given for Swindon’s large­scale energy storage facility


Public Power Solutions, the wholly-owned company of Swindon Borough Council, received planning consent for the project. The battery storage scheme, at the former Mannington


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Depot owned by the Council, has a permitted capacity of up to 50 MW making it one of the largest standalone batteries to be developed so far in the UK. The brownfield site, enclosed between the A3102, railway line and Mannington Retail Park, with a grid connection via the nearby substation at Toothill, was formerly used as a municipal depot. Having successfully achieved planning consent, PPS is now in discussions with developers seeking front of the meter battery storage opportunities to take on the funding and construction of the project, which benefits from a very low grid connection cost. Steve Cains, Head of Public Power Solutions, PPS, told


UKPN: “The project has a great location next to a sub- station, meaning the grid connection cost is very competitive - so this is a good opportunity for a developer looking for front of the meter battery storage opportunities that will enable them to generate an income in a variety of different ways. Local authorities are in a unique position to benefit from the growing demand for electricity storage, with diverse property portfolios and high energy consumption. We’re making it work at home here in Swindon but this project could be replicated in many other parts of the country, helping generate an income for the cash-strapped public sector.” The project is designed to have a 30-year lifespan and


will offer a long-term land rental income for Swindon Borough Council. It will be able to deliver balancing services for National Grid, to help enable the growing proportion of renewable generation in the UK, making a significant contribution to the future flexibility of the UK’s energy system and helping reduce costs for consumers.


windon is set to be home to one of the UK’s largest battery-based electricity storage facilities after


For over 50 years Wardpower has been designing, building and servicing the finest project specific Generating Sets and low voltage distri- bution systems. The company has a reputa- tion for providing critical power infrastructure for clients including the National Grid, NHS, HMP and the UK’s Nuclear power stations. Bob Linley ( 61), MD of


Wardpower has sold his power generator company to Power Engineering (India).


Wardpower manufactures diesel gensets used as an emergency back-up power supply or as a primary source of electricity. The company employs 15 people, with a further eight sub-contractors working as installers for a decade. Mr Linley said the new acquisition would mean extra business and new jobs - the new owner is part of the Pai Kane Group, a 'major player' in the generator market, with 48 overseas distributors. British-built generators are


British-built generators are currently in demand and the deal will ‘help Pai Kane enter the South America market sector’, he comments. Bob Linley explains: “I’ve


been looking for an exit strategy and they have been keen to do something with us for quite some time. They see Wardpower as a marque in power generation. I will remain here for the next two years, possibly longer. But Wardpower needed someone who would look at the next 20 years. “We could reach record turnover this year with several major projects currently in negotiation. He concludes: “We were planning to hire three additional staff even without the Indian deal. I expect significant business going through Sheffield. The idea is to build an Anglo-Indian product here. It’s very encouraging that there are markets that prefer UK and Sheffield-made equipment.”


Smith Brothers win contract to work on a 21 MVA site for Northern Powergrid


Smith Brothers MD - Nick Gudgeon.


orkshire power contractor Smith Brothers has been appointed by world-leading polymer provider SNF, to carry out large-scale electrical engineering works at its first UK-based manufacturing facility. Having been enlisted as the Independent Connections Provider (ICP) by SNF, high voltage specialist Smith Brothers will be responsible for the 66kV load connection of the 21MVA site to the Northern Powergrid (NPg). A turnkey programme of works will see the Elland-based contractor carrying out all civil and electrical engineering aspects of the connection assignment, from initial design through to final commissioning. With the facility set to share its power supply with a nearby generation site via an existing radial circuit, the engineers will be responsible for laying a 3.5km dual 66kV cable route to the Point of Connection (POC) provided by the NPg. Smith Brothers’ civils team will additionally be tasked with the construction and commissioning of an outdoor 66kV substation, as well as a control room for NPg to house the necessary protection scheme. The outdoor substation will entail the installation of two 72.5kV 1250A 31.5kA dead tank SF6 circuit breakers, 66kV disconnectors, voltage transformers, cable sealing ends, post insulators, supporting steel structures, busbars and connectors. The engineers will also construct two transformer bunds – each containing a 66/11kV 20MVA transformer – along with two 11kV 4.23ohms 1500A Neutral Earthing Resistors (NERs), post insulators, cable sealing ends and disconnectors for SNF. Further duties for Smith Brothers will involve the construction of a private substation building


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and the installation of internal 11kV Unigear 500R switchboard, automatic voltage control panels, transformer protection panels, battery chargers and other associated gear. Commenting on the scale of the assignment, project manager Iliana Malatra said: “As with


any project of this size, there are a number of challenges not only in terms of scale, but also the technical requirements. The outdoor substation has been designed with critical attention to detail, for example, so the construction and commissioning stages will need similar levels of consideration. Additionally, we have tight timescales to meet for the work and energisation. Ensuring that minimal disruption is caused when we connect the facility to the grid is a key priority, and our dedicated team will be working hard to meet all set deadlines with this goal in mind.”


12 MARCH ‐ APRIL 2018 UK POWER NEWS


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