The £7.7M Portsmouth electricity upgrade reaches a major milestone.
- Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) work has been successfully completed in the project.
- The Fort Widley project involves replacing 2.2km of outdated 132kV cables.
- Environmental considerations were meticulously addressed due to the project’s location in a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
- Collaboration between SSEN, Portsmouth City Council, and Natural England was crucial to this phase’s success.
The £7.7M project aimed at enhancing the resilience of Portsmouth’s electricity infrastructure has achieved a significant milestone with the completion of horizontal directional drilling (HDD) operations. This advancement marks progress in the Fort Widley cable replacement scheme, which seeks to replace 2.2km of aged 132kV fluid-filled cable circuits nearing the end of their operational life.
The completed HDD process traversed beneath a carriageway and an embankment in the Portsdown Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), necessitating careful environmental management. Contractors were required to take extraordinary precautions to avoid damaging the area’s sensitive ecological features, including chalk grasslands and rare plant species.
SSEN’s project manager, Anthony Griffin, explained the strategic choice for utilizing HDD technology, stating, “We opted for the HDD to come down the hill, so this needed a lot of coordination planning; it needed a lot of temporary work set up at the base of the hill where the receive pit was for the drilling platform.”
Environmental concerns were at the forefront of planning, with surveys and assessments conducted to identify and mitigate potential impacts on protected species and habitats. SSEN obtained necessary consents from the Environment Agency and Natural England, adapting plans to prioritize ecological sensitivity. Dave Jones, SSEN’s principal ecologist, highlighted the project’s environmental commitments, “This project is a great example of SSEN’s commitment to protecting and enhancing the environment that we work within.”
Further collaborative efforts have led to habitat enhancement initiatives, such as the removal of invasive scrub from the SSSI, with SSEN contributing £10,000 towards these efforts. Portsmouth City Council’s leader, Steve Pitt, noted the positive impact, pointing out the increased connectivity and enlargement of the chalk grassland areas, which are crucial for maintaining local biodiversity.
The completion of the HDD phase is a pivotal step toward the overall project’s goal of fortifying the electricity supply for 120,000 residents in Portsmouth and Fareham. Aaron Reed, SSEN’s senior project manager, emphasized the transformative potential of these developments, underlining how the initiative will bolster the network’s capacity and support future demands, enabling wider adoption of low-carbon technologies.
The successful completion of the HDD phase in the Portsmouth electricity upgrade underscores the project’s commitment to both infrastructural advancement and environmental stewardship.
