Led by Charlotte Bishop from Oxford Archaeology and Suzie Westall from Balfour Beatty, the team delivered an interactive presentation to a class of seven and eight-year-olds.  Pupils first donned their hard hats and high vis before learning more about what archaeology is, what archaeologists do (and wear), what they find, and how a recent dig as part of the Hinkley Connection project uncovered a whole Roman town.

Our team worked with local residents and councillors to remove more than ten large bags of rubbish from environmentally sensitive rhynes, surrounding fields and roadside ditches in Mark, Somerset.

The work also cleaned up several footpaths and ecologically important hedgerows, improving quality of life while helping the village remain attractive to ramblers and safe for local animals, including birds, bats and rabbits.

Every state school within the six local authorities impacted by the Hinkley Connection Project can apply for a £500 or £1250 grant for every year of the project.

In four years, National Grid has awarded 1,241 grants to local schools to help them buy STEM equipment

The funding has supported 64,807 local children with special educational needs and those from challenging backgrounds, giving them access STEM subjects and the necessary equipment to enhance their learning and development.

The report by Somerset Correspondent, Ben McGrail provides a visual overview of the project and some key updates on the progress made on the stringing, an engineering term for hanging the wires (conductors) between the unique structures.

48 of the T-pylons have now been constructed between Bridgwater and Loxton in Somerset and engineers have been putting the wires in place that will carry low-carbon energy onto the electricity network.

T-pylons are an innovative new pylon for overhead electricity lines. They have a single pole and T-shaped cross arms, which feature suspension diamond insulators – like ‘earrings’ – which hold the wires, or conductors. 48 of the T-pylons have now been constructed between Bridgwater and Loxton in Somerset and engineers have been putting in place the conductors that will carry the low carbon energy onto the electricity network.

NGET currently use batteries alongside diesel generators to provide backup power to a substation for key activities such as cooling fans, pumps, and lighting, enabling it to continue to perform its crucial role in the electricity transmission system.

These backup generators are rarely used and have less than a 1% chance of operating per year, however, on the rare occasion that backup power is required, changing from diesel to low-carbon emission alternatives have the potential to reduce carbon intensity by 90%* and save over 500,000kg of carbon emissions

The energy system is in the middle of a significant transformation. Government targets of 40GW of offshore wind generation by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050 are bringing challenges such as delivering the infrastructure needed to support increasing amounts of renewable energy and facilitate a nationwide rollout of electric vehicles. 

As part of National Grid’s commitment to reduce the visual impact of construction works and the permanent structures being built along the route, 1,257 trees, 39,527 m2 of woodland and 9,960 linear metres of hedges were planted in the 2021/22 winter planting season.

The planting season runs from November to March each year and by March 2025 National Grid has committed to planting a total of 5,959 trees, 33,995 linear metres of hedgerow and 277,060 square metres of woodland planting.

The Blue Recovery Leaders Group meeting at WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre, Gloucestershire, on 4 March, was chaired by chair of Natural England, Tony Juniper. Attendees included His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, and representatives from sectors including housing, water, charity, engineering, banking and landowners. WWT’s incoming chief executive, Sarah Fowler, also attended the event.

The members of the Blue Recovery Leaders Group include:

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