Balfour Beatty and their subcontractor, G Works, worked together to successfully deliver the installation of the bridge, and the bridge itself was supplied by Groundforce.
The installation of the first bridge is testament to the professionalism of our contractors and their partners
Since 2019 National Grid has been working closely with Government and industry on developing charging infrastructure to meet long-term consumer demand for electric vehicles.
Last week, school children from East Huntspill Academy near Highbridge in Somerset were invited onto site to add the finishing touch to one of the pylons. The Year 6 pupils placed a time capsule inside the hollow stem of ‘their’ T-pylon, located close to the village. The contents were created by pupils to mark the historic milestone of the world’s first T-pylons being built in Somerset.
Starting at sites in Leeds and Warwick, this first phase of the partnership will recruit for roles such as business analyst, product designer and control room operator. The programme involves a 12-week paid placement where individuals are able to use their skills in real-life situations, work closely with teams at National Grid and get an understanding of what the business does. Successful placements will then be transitioned into permanent roles.
To make way for the new connection, National Grid is removing 67km of existing overhead wires and pylons – 249 in total – from the Somerset landscape.
Part of the Mendip Hills will be pylon-free for the first time since the 1930s
35 pylons are being removed between Loxton and Sandford, where instead of building T-pylons we have installed underground cables under the Mendip Hills, leaving this part of the Area of Outstanding Beauty pylon-free for the first time in 91 years!
And on Thursday 28 April, school children from East Huntspill Academy near Highbridge in Somerset were invited onto site to add the finishing touch to one of the pylons. The Year 6 pupils placed a time capsule inside the hollow stem of ‘their’ T-pylon, located close to the village. The contents were created by pupils to mark the historic milestone of the world’s first T-pylons being built in Somerset.
The fish rescues are part of National Grid’s commitment to protecting local wildlife while working to connect Hinkley Point C power station to the existing National Grid network; which, when complete, will bring low-carbon energy to the south west and connect six million UK homes and businesses.
The fish needed to be moved to allow culverts to be constructed to the specification of the Parrett Internal Drainage Board. The culverts were needed to provide access to towers, to allow for the installation of conductors across the new route into Shurton Substation.
As 1-in-50 or 1-in-100-year extreme weather events of the past increase in frequency, and society increasingly depends on electricity for its energy, EPRI is strengthening the power sector’s collective approach to assessing and managing physical climate risk to the power system.
On Monday 11 April, contractors Balfour Beatty finished building 48 of the new T-pylons and connected the wires along a section of the Hinkley Connection route between Bridgwater and Loxton. The completion of the T-pylons marks a major milestone ahead of their energisation in October 2022. The remaining 68 T-pylons will be built between Sandford and Portbury and completed by early 2024.
National Grid and its contractors Balfour Beatty and GE’s Grid Solutions have been working since June 2019 to build a replacement substation for Littlebrook 400 kV substation. The Dartford facility was constructed fifty years ago and was becoming difficult to maintain due to its reliance on a potent greenhouse gas sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆), a gas commonly used in the electrical industry to prevent short circuits and to keep the network safe and reliable.