National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) is constructing a new 400/132kV substation in Woolavington to connect Agratas’ new electric vehicle battery manufacturing factory to the UK’s high voltage electricity transmission network. This will provide a reliable electricity supply to power the facility in the future.
In 2024, Agratas, part of Tata Group, confirmed that it was to build the factory near Bridgwater in Somerset. Construction of the 40GWh factory is now underway, which aims to supply almost half of the batteries needed by the UK’s automotive industry by the early 2030s.
Project overview
As a regulated business, NGET has a legal obligation to connect customers to the UK electricity transmission network when a request is received. Agratas has requested a connection to supply power to its battery manufacturing facility. NGET is developing plans, working with Agratas and This is Gravity Ltd, to construct a new substation.
A new substation is required as our existing substations in the area do not have enough capacity to connect the new factory. In time, we may also be required to connect other customers in proximity to the substation.
As the operator of the electricity transmission network in England and Wales, NGET is responsible for ensuring the facility has a continuous and reliable source of power to enable its future operations.
Substation development
Our work is subject to a Local Development Order compliance process administered by the local planning authority, Somerset Council.
Our emerging proposals include measures to minimise any potential impacts on local residents and the wider environment, for example, through the provision of landscape screening, use of an approved environmental colour palette for external cladding materials, as well as implementing a sensitive lighting scheme to minimise light spill. We will also have robust Construction Traffic Management and Construction Environment Management Plans in place.
Programme update
Main construction of the substation will begin in late Spring 2026.
All contractors have been briefed to ensure they work responsibly and are considerate of the local community. This includes a briefing on considerate driving and minimising noise when entering and leaving site.
We will be keeping local people informed as the work progresses.
Site location
The proposed location of the new substation is the eastern side of the Gravity Site. This land is identified in the Local Development Order for energy infrastructure.
The location is directly underneath the new high-voltage electricity line that NGET has previously constructed in the area. This avoids the need for any additional pylons or overhead wires.
A temporary construction compound, including welfare units and parking for workers, has also been established adjacent to Woolavington Road.
Indicative project timeline
Note that this timeline is subject to change as the project progresses through the planning and development stages.
| March 2025 to August 2025 | Agratas to carry out early works to prepare a development platform on the main substation site and associated temporary construction compound. |
| September 2025 | Early works by our contractor, Balfour Beatty, to establish a temporary construction compound adjacent to Woolavington Road. |
| October 2025 to May 2026 | Further early works packages including foundation and civils works to the main development. Works to the existing Overhead Lines to facilitate connection to the proposed substation. |
| Late Spring 2026 | Start of main substation construction works (subject to the outcome of the LDO compliance process). |
| End of 2028 | Construction complete. |
Investing in communities
Communities that host new energy infrastructure play a vital role in the transition to cleaner, more affordable, homegrown sources of energy. New government guidance sets out a clear framework for the benefits we can share with communities who host our infrastructure.
Under the guidance, if our proposal for Woolavington substation is granted planning permission, it will be eligible for £530,000 of community funding. This funding will be made available to invest in projects that benefit local people.
We will work with residents, charities, community groups and elected representatives to understand your priorities and how the funding can best support lasting, positive social, environmental or economic impact.
Further information
Proposed Woolavington substation
Our engagement material
If you have been unable to attend any of our community drop-in events, you can view the materials we used by clicking the following links:
Give feedback
You can also complete our online feedback form to provide comments on the proposed substation.
Our working hours will be between 7am and 6pm Monday to Friday (with construction activities commencing from 8am). It may also be necessary for our teams to carry out weekend working or work extended hours, for example for deliveries of equipment to the site or to carry out specific activities. We will have agreed working hours and mitigation with Somerset Council to minimise any impact to the local community.
We appreciate that some of our activity can be noisy. The noisiest part of our construction work will be when we need to dig some deep concrete foundations, known as pile foundations. This will be for a limited period. We’ll regularly monitor noise and vibration levels so that they stay within agreed limits and let local residents know ahead of the works starting.
Substations are integral features of the electricity network and convert electricity to a lower voltage so it can be safely delivered to local homes and businesses.
National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) owns and operates more than 300 large substations, where 132kV, 275kV and 400kV overhead power lines or underground cables are switched in voltage so the electricity can be safely distributed to the surrounding areas.
Smaller substations are owned and maintained by local distribution networks, including our Electricity Distribution business, National Grid Electricity Distribution.
The proposed substation is at the design and development stages. We will be able to share more details and images of the proposed design later in Spring 2025 and will be inviting residents to view the plans at a local venue.
Typical components of a 132kV/400kV substation are:
- Supergrid transformers: vital high voltage devices which boost substations’ capacity and resilience, stepping voltage up or down so electricity can be efficiently transmitted from power generators or safely distributed to homes and businesses via regional networks.
- Buildings which will house the switchgear: a variety of equipment including disconnectors, fuses and lightning arrestors which ensure the safe disconnection of an electrical circuit in case of a fault or can isolate a circuit for maintenance.
- Gantries: for the proposed Woolavington substation this is where the substation will connect into the existing line of T-pylons in the area, which avoids the need for additional pylons.
- Busbars: metal bars that conduct electricity across their span. Equipment in substations is typically clamped directly onto these busbars.
- Gas insulated Busbars: type of electrical switchgear that is enclosed in a metal casing and uses gas as the primary insulation medium
A Local Development Order (LDO) provides specified permitted development rights within a defined area, in addition to those that are set out in the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order already. By doing this, it removes the requirement for an application for planning permission albeit, confirmation is typically required from the local planning authority (LPA) that the terms of the LDO have been complied with.
LDOs are determined locally and used by LPAs to help accelerate the delivery of appropriate development. LDOs can help enable growth by positively and proactively shaping sustainable development in their area, and by simplifying the planning process and making investment more attractive.
View the Gravity Local Development Order on Somerset Council’s website
We will submit a detailed Construction Traffic Management Plan as part of our Local Development Order Compliance Submission to Somerset Council, which details our measures for mitigating the effects of road-based construction traffic. This includes the implementation of clear controls, defining hours of operation, specifying appropriate routes for large goods vehicles, and managing the timing of deliveries to minimise disruptions. This plan has been developed in consultation with Somerset Council as Local Highway Authority, National Highways and wider Gravity Delivery Partners.
Our Primary construction access will be via Enterprise Way and Woolavington Road. Should access to our site be restricted via this route and/or via the main Gravity site, we may need to consider alternative access in consultation with the local highway authority.
In such circumstances, alternative access would be via A39 and B3141, however we will do our best to limit this. No construction traffic, at any time, is to enter or leave the village via Woolavington Road/Higher Road.
Once the substation becomes operational, we anticipate there will be minimal traffic to and from the site, with around ten cars or light goods vehicles visiting the site each month.
While there may be some disruption, we’ll do all we can to minimise our impact on the local community.
We’ll continue to share programme and construction information with the local community and Somerset Council as well as the Parish Councils. This will help us to better understand how we can minimise the potential impacts of our work. For example, if we need to introduce road closures and how we can minimise potential noise impacts.
We’re committed to being a good neighbour and we’ll work with our contractors to make sure any disruption to the local community is kept to a minimum.
National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED) is building two interim 33kV connections which will power the Agratas site until the high voltage 400kV/132kV substation is complete.
Working with the local community
It’s important to us that It’s important to us that we keep local people well informed and offer opportunities to ask questions about our plans.
We’ll share regular updates while we’re carrying out these works, to let you know where you might see us working. This includes writing to local residents, Woolavington Parish Council and Puriton Parish Council ahead of any project milestones or works that may affect the community.
If you have any questions, you can contact our Community Relations team by calling 0800 073 1047, Monday to Friday 9am-5:30pm (an answering service is in place outside of these times) or emailing [email protected].
EMFs
EMFs are electric and magnetic fields. EMFs are produced wherever electricity is used. Electric fields are produced by voltage and magnetic fields by current flowing through a conductor. Overhead infrastructure is a source of two fields: the electric field (produced by the voltage) and the magnetic field (produced by the current).
National Grid takes the issue of health very seriously and relies on authoritative and independent scientific organisations, such as the World Health OrganizaNational Grid takes the issue of health very seriously and relies on authoritative and independent scientific organisations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), to review the worldwide body of scientific evidence on electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) and health, as well as reviewing the science ourselves.
Health considerations are given a high priority in the process by which we arrive at any proposals for new routes for electricity connections. Our approach is to ensure that all our assets comply with the guidelines set by Government on advice from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). A vast amount of research has been done into the possibility of health effects, without establishing any risks below these levels.