Design of a 300MVA 132kV/33kV substation
Freedom was appointed to design the new 300MVA 132kV/33kV substation. The design team liaised with UKPN to produce an industry compliant design in accordance with its G81 library of technical design specifications. The long-term relationship between the two companies has forged our knowledge and expertise of UKPN’s standards and procedures.
The 300MVA 132kV/33kV substation is 54,000sqm and scaled to handle the HV incoming load to supply seamless power to the data centre on site – currently, it’s one of the largest indoor primary substations to be built within inner London. The 132kV gas insulated switchgear (GIS) is SF6-free to futureproof in preparation for new legislation that will ban sulphur hexafluoride gas in the construction of technical equipment. We liaised with manufacturer, Siemens Energy UK, on the switchgear design. Quality control checks were put in place with site visits to Siemens’ factory in Germany to ensure industry compliance. This type of SF6-free GIS installation arrangement is the first of its kind in London.
The substation is located within the boundary of the data centre to assist the client in maintaining a high classification standard of site security. To provide n-1 resilience uninterrupted power and system stability – the connection is to two 300MVA cable circuits and three 160MVA transformers supply power to the three data centre buildings.
Unusually, this is an architecturally designed substation to meet the aesthetic conditions of the client’s planning permission. We designed the substation to replicate the architectural features and external materials of the surrounding three data centre buildings. At just two storeys high, it’s largely concealed by the trio of tall structures to blend into the regenerated urban environment.
Careful attention has gone into the layout of the substation interior to create two separate and secure areas for the assets, which on completion will be adopted by UKPN (132kV) and the data centre operator (33kV).