Wryde Croft Wind Farm

The brief

To produce a detailed design for a new 60MVA 132/33kV substation and 132kV cable connection to an existing overhead line for a permanent 14MW wind farm connection.  BPI produced the design for a new sealing end platform to an adjacent tower to accommodate the new 132kV cables, approximately 600m from the new substation.  This included modification to the existing tower cross arm steelwork to support down leads to connect to the new 132kV incoming cables.

The approach

A topographical survey was conducted to create a base map for the 132kV cable route and the new substation. A desktop utility search was undertaken to assess the location’s suitability for the 132kV cable route and new substation. The agreed cable route required BPI to undertake a horizontal direct drilling (HDD) crossing underneath the B1167 road and the New South Eau drain, thus providing a connection to the new substation.

The challenges

This project came with a number of unique design challenges, from providing a connection to the existing overhead line and the final 132kV cable routing to the substation, using HDD technology under a deep drain over a relatively short cable route.  BPI designers worked closely with the client to ensure a compliant design was produced.

The delivery

A comprehensive suite of drawings and calculations were produced to meet the project programme.  The detailed design of the new 60MVA 132/33kV substation included HV plant layout, earthing study, detailed civil design and detailed secondary protection design.  The final connection from the new substation to the wind farm was via 33kV interconnecting cables.