Vattenfall, the Swedish power company, commissioned QuadConsult to undertake CDM Support and Principal Designer duties for the largest on-shore wind farm in the UK outside Scotland, and Vattenfall’s largest onshore wind farm to that point.  Seventy-six wind turbines are sited on Natural Resources Wales’ forest estate in Neath Port Talbot and Rhondda Cynon Tâf unitary authorities to the south of the A465 Heads of the Valleys road in South Wales.  It generates enough power for 188,000 houses annually, equivalent to 15% of Welsh homes.

The project, which is the highest wind farm in the UK, was split into four separate work packages:

• Enabling works comprising a year-long tree felling operation – the largest ever undertaken by NRW – and geotechnical works;
• Civil Engineering works comprising foundations, crane hardstands, on-site electrical cabling, and track construction;
• Export cable works comprising the on-site sub-station and operations and maintenance facility, the cable from site to a new sub-station at Rhigos, and the Rhigos sub-station, excluding the utility Western Power’s works;
• Turbine supply and install contract.

The project cost around £365 million, and the CDM Support and Principal Designer role ran from 2012 to 2017.

In 2017 Vattenfall secured an amendment to its consent to provide for a large High Voltage battery installation to be used to regulate the flow of energy into the grid. Belectric, a German specialist company, was appointed as Principal Contractor, and QuadConsult was retained as Principal Designer.

QuadConsult staff were proud to be part of the Inauguration of the windfarm which took place on site on 28 September 2017.  It was a prestigious event with full media coverage attended by, amongst others, executives from Vattenfall and Wales’ First Minister, Carwyn Jones.

CONSTRUCTING EXCELLENCE AWARD

The Constructing Excellence Civils Project of the Year 2018 for Wales was awarded to Jones Bros & Balfour Beatty Joint Venture for the Vattenfall Pen y Cymoedd Wind Energy Project. QuadConsult Limited Director Chris Usher was the CDM Co-ordinator/Principal Designer throughout, and Principal Engineer Meurig Hughes undertook the position of Resident Engineer during construction.  Meurig (far left in the photo) represented the company at the award dinner for over 500 industry professionals at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport when the announcement was made.