Design & Build of a 33kV substation and 33kV cable route to connect Drumcross Gas Peaking Plant to the grid supply point

Forsa Energy’s latest flexible energy plant produces back up electricity to SP Energy Networks in periods of high demand to support grid stability. Freedom was appointed to design and build a new 33kV substation and associated works to connect the 22.5MW standby gas peaking plant with the DNO’s Drumcross GSP station.

The scope included a two-panel 33kV switchboard and a 1.8km long 33kV single cable circuit along the A89. Already congested with services, we identified a 1500m stretch of verge for the cable route where soft ground conditions versus the carriageway hard terrain was a more affordable and quicker solution to excavate the trenches. We managed a specialist supply chain partner who completed the works to the clients’ deadline, with just 300m of the carriageway used near the grid supply point (GSP).

The cable route also involved navigating a local watercourse at the southern boundary of the GSP. Since SP Energy Networks didn’t want steel pipes to be used, we investigated two options: a new route or horizontal directional drilling (HDD). HDD was the preferred solution to avoid lengthy negotiations with the landowner.

The local authority’s roads department were managing other works at the same time, further up the A89. We negotiated a traffic management solution and achieved the necessary permissions while balancing the DNO’s requirements and the clients’ delivery deadline.