The primary platform for SSEN Transmission’s Kinardochy substation in rural Perthshire has been started by a team led by Siemens Bam. To link the new substation to the existing Beauly to Denny overhead line that runs across the site, Balfour Beatty has begun the construction of temporary towers that will reroute the line for about 18 months until the substation is ready to be linked.
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The new Kinardochy substation will be built around three miles south of Tummel Bridge. The installed equipment will be crucial in ensuring that voltage limitations on the transmission network remain stable and power flows can be regulated efficiently. It will allow new renewable generation to be connected to the grid and clean energy to be transferred to where it is most needed.
The substation will be constructed and run initially at 275 kilovolts (kV) but is designed to function at 400kV, assuring that any future upgrading to the operating voltage of the Beauly to Denny overhead line will need only minor alterations. The platform being built will also be large enough to accommodate any extra equipment that has to be installed at Kinardochy with minimum future maintenance.
Kinardochy substation’s preparatory works
Prior to breaking ground on-site, tree clearance has occurred over the last six months to allow main contractor Siemens Bam to commence the main substation building operations, as well as ground research to understand the conditions beneath the surface.
The ground investigations indicated that the rock beneath the site can be crushed and utilized to build the substation platform and permanent access road, reducing the amount of material that must be imported to the site by HGVs. It also eliminates the need to transport materials offsite for disposal. Teams hope to utilize around 84,000 cubic meters of rock in total.
To reduce the visual impact of the substation, screening bunds will be built using natural material dug from the work location. The bunds will also be replanted with native tree species and seeded with local wildflowers, which will not only improve the visual impact but also promote better biodiversity in the neighborhood, allowing local flora and fauna to thrive, in accordance with SSEN Transmission‘s strive to ensuring biodiversity net gain on future projects. A patch of trees to the north of the construction area has also been kept to offer extra screening as the new plantings grow.
The scenic environment in which the substation will be situated has been carefully considered, with the substation itself being constructed into the slope of the ground so that it will be naturally covered by the landscape. Later this year, compensatory planting trees work is planned with Dun Coillich Community Woodland immediately to the south of the substation, where native woodland tree species will be planted to substitute the commercial forestry trees that were removed earlier in the project to create a way for construction.
