Will transmission be needed in a decentralised, decarbonised, digitalised energy system? David Wright, Director of Electricity Transmission and Group Chief Electricity Engineer, considers some of the factors that could shape the outcome – however uncertain the future may be.
ET has published its Network Innovation Annual Summary report for 2017/18 this week, which covers projects carried out by ET’s innovation team together with research partners from industry and academia; including Cardiff University and University of Southampton.
Explaining the need for events like this, Iliana Portugués, Electricity Transmission’s Head of Innovation, said, “To ensure we deliver the future needs of our customers, we have to work more closely with the rest of the energy industry to design and create the adaptive network we need. No one can work in isolation and be successful. This workshop is a step closer to achieving that change.”
Sandown Park Racecourse was the setting for the recent environment workshop for our gas and electricity transmission businesses. This event was the first in a series of activities, where our stakeholders help us build our business plans for the next regulatory period (RIIO-T2) starting in 2021.
We would like to thank everyone who took part in the local consultation during the six years of planning this project. Their feedback had a significant influence on our final proposal and we look forward to continuing these relationships with local communities over the coming years. We assure residents that we will carry out the construction work responsibly and safely.
A little after 7am on 1 May, just outside Canterbury, two huge mobile cranes moved slowly into position. After months of preparation and planning, the lift for the final piece of the steel structure of the first of 60 pylons that will form the backbone of the Richborough Connection was about to begin.
Each pylon stands 47 metres tall and weighs about 25 tonnes. Engineers from the Murphy Ethel Joint Venture (MEJV), used over 5,000 steel parts to build the first pylon – a process that takes about a week from start to finish.
In summer 2019, National Grid will begin work on the construction phase of the LPT2 project, building 30km of cable tunnels stretching from Wimbledon in south west London to Crayford in south east London. The tunnels, which will be up to four metres in diameter, will largely be buried deep beneath the streets.
They are needed to replace three existing electricity circuits that are coming to the end of their life. The project is expected to take about eight years to complete.
Sometimes the most staggering engineering achievements are hidden from view. Deep beneath London’s streets a 32km network of tunnels snakes across the capital. It stretches from Hackney in the east to Willesden in the west and from Kensal Green to Wimbledon.
This is the London Power Tunnels (LPT) project. It is the most important addition to London’s electricity system since the 1960s. Since the scheme began in 2011 National Grid has built a total of 10 new underground transmission circuits which will initially carry up to 20% of the power needed in the capital.
The capacity on offer is a combination of new build and existing capacity which comes out of contract in 2025. The expansion will increase the size of the Grain terminal, located on the Isle of Grain in Kent, to approximately 1.2 million cubic metres.
Here in Electricity Transmission, we’re committed to making innovation part of everything we do. We use it to prepare for the emerging challenges facing our industry and to create more value for consumers and society in a rapidly changing world.
Our electricity transmission network does a vital job. It connects hundreds of customers and, ultimately, millions of homes and businesses to the power they need. But we want to improve our network. And we’re finding new ways to run it faster, cheaper, greener and more flexibly than ever.