Energy infrastructure optimisation case study: How some high voltage thinking saved our client over £100m

Once development work began and it became clear that the site was ideally suited for even more expansion, it also became clear that there wasn’t sufficient power on the electricity distribution network to support that additional expansion.

Thoughts turned to re-enforcing the network through local power generation,  for example, building multiple different sustainable power plants, and we were asked to prepare a report on the options. Building that many generation plants would be expensive and operationally challenging.

But seemingly the only alternative to connecting to the distribution network came with an eyewatering £120 million price tag.

Facing a crippling capital outlay, we came up with a far more cost-effective option: connect directly into the main transmission network. This is the more powerful line that typically moves electricity from power plants to substations, rather than the Distribution line which moves electricity from substations to consumers.

And, because the transmission network was close to the site and because of the client’s large demand, it was an eminently viable option. Our client talked to the operator of the transmission network at National Grid and soon had an offer to connect to the transmission network, with a cost of just £10 million. Over £100 million less than feared.

With no need for a major sustainable energy infrastructure programme spanning nearly a decade and at a fraction of the potential cost, our client was able to power ahead with their development. No delays. No complex scheduling. And very few limitations in terms of what they could do.

What’s more, they now had a dependable supply of power direct from the grid but still the option of going more “green” over time. With some imaginative thinking, we helped save 8+ years of management hassles and a decade of development headaches.