The growth in the trend for small, flexible electricity peaking stations is continuing with the construction of a 10MWe station at Sevington in Kent. The new generation of power stations will form a valuable part of British Energy’s portfolio. The site at Sevington will be the third embedded power station built for British Energy by Liverpool based Clarke Energy.
The sites at Newport, South Wales and Bridgwater, Somerset are already online, and by being embedded into the local distribution network avoid some of the infrastructure charges of the national network. This is a prime example of distributed generation in the UK and gives British Energy unrivalled flexibility when it comes to trading electricity under NETA – The New Electricity Trading Arrangements. British Energy ‘s trading team at Barnwood, Gloucester, will select the times of high electricity prices and peak demand before bringing the station on-line. This can be done remotely and the station can be up to full power in just 10 minutes.
Ken Garrington, project engineer with British Energy who has overseen the project, said: « This was a very successful construction project, completed on-time and to budget. Looking to the future, we have every confidence of repeating this success with the next two stations so that they are fully available for the winter of this year. »
This is all made possible by the highly professional Clarke Energy project team and the superb Jenbacher purpose designed gas engines, four of which will be located at each station. The engines, supplied, installed and serviced by Clarke Energy as part of their turnkey package, are some of the most efficient in the world for their power range. The Jenbacher model J620 GS engine is a 20 cylinder high-speed spark ignition engine with a sophisticated Leanox closed loop fuel control system that maximizes combustion efficiency and provides reliable compliance with NOx emission values. The engines performance is monitored via Clarke Energy’s Remote Data Transmission Centre in Slough.
February 2002 The partnership of a world-leading manufacturer supported by an excellent service company ensures our customers receive unparalleled levels of availability and with major overhaul intervals every 60,000 operating hours, the package remains unrivalled. The power stations occupy around half an acre of land, including car parking, a gas reception kiosk, a main transformer and four air blast coolers as well as the station building. In the case of the second site, being completed at Bridgwater in Somerset, the station has been located in an industrial estate on the grounds of a former sports and social club. The size and the low impact to the environment from emissions, noise and the fact that the gas can be piped in means that the stations can be located right next to the consumers.
Speaking about the scheme, Project Manager for Clarke Energy, Steve Norris said: « As Planning Supervisors and Principal Contractors Clarke Energy has delivered this station on schedule. From breaking ground to handover, this 10-month project is delivered with minimal disruption to the local environment. Good management, close customer interface and excellent working relationships with all of our subcontractors is the key to our success » Sevington is due to come on-line at the start of February and work is already in progress on the next station at Aberdare, South Wales, with work expected to start on the fifth site of this contract in early February 2002
