Smith Brothers Contracting Ltd has commenced construction work for Arlington Energy at a battery site on Greenfield Road, Bedford.
The independent connection provider (ICP) will oversee all private, contestable and EPC works relating to the 40MW assignment – from initial design, through to final commissioning. Construction will take place between May and October 2019, with a focus on achieving energisation prior to the onset of Greenwich Mean Time.
The EPC works will include the procurement, delivery, installation and commissioning of 22, 40ft long battery containers – as well as the construction of a solid base for each – along with the fitting of 66 inverters (PCS) and 11 auxiliary transformers.
Once complete, the development will be connected to UK Power Networks (UKPN) via 800m of cabling. Additionally, project-specific SCADA panels will enable the customer to remotely control the entire site.
Contestable works include the design and build of a 132kV outdoor substation – including associated infrastructure – as well as the construction, supply, assembly and commissioning of the necessary protection panels.
The private elements of the 33kV outdoor substation meanwhile, includes the design and construction of two transformer bunds, installation of post insulators, surge arrestors, NER and a set of a single switch disconnectors.
Dave Ogden, director at Smith Brothers, said: “This is the second Arlington Energy project we’ve hit shovel-ready on in as many months, and it’s fantastic to see our client’s one gigawatt energy storage and gas peaking portfolio ambitions coming to fruition.
“The teams at Arlington and Smith Brothers HQ have worked hard to reach this point over the past year, and it’s impressive to see this next chapter of growth – for both firms – paving the way for the future of energy generation.”
Matt Clare, director at Arlington Infrastructure, added: “We’ve been working closely with Smith Brothers over the past 12 months, to get everything in place ready for construction work to begin on site. It’s wonderful to see our vision coming to life – both at Chesterfield Road and most recently, at Greenfield Road – and it only reaffirms that we made completely the right EPC partner decision to deliver on our ambitions.”
In April, Smith Brothers begun work on the first of Arlington Energy’s energy storage and gas peaking projects, a short term operating reserve (STOR) site in Sheffield, Yorkshire.
