Smith Brothers gets Saint-Gobain site on grid

Saint-Gobain – Europe’s leading flat glass producer – appointed the Independent Connection Provider (ICP) to upgrade the HV system and handle all electrical and civil engineering works to link the facility into the local distribution network.

Following an eight-month turnkey scheme of works – from initial design through to final commissioning – the Smith Brothers team was tasked with replacing the previous private-wire system and conducting essential network reinforcements.

This entailed the construction of two 66kV outdoor substations – one private and one contestable – along with the required cabling works and installation of two parallel-fed 20MVA transformers along the route between the compounds. The engineers additionally established an 11kV substation and control room, and installed all associated electrical and protective equipment.

Having completed the site commissioning in August, the high-voltage specialist has now finished the integration of the system into the Northern Powergrid and Saint-Gobain networks and successfully energised the site.

Smith Brothers’ senior project manager, John Benson, commented: “Grid connection assignments always require a robust and proactive project management schedule, to ensure all works stay on track and any issues can be resolved as quickly as possible. For manufacturing sites like the Saint-Gobain facility – where smooth operations are key to business success – this is really important, as any unforeseen interruptions can be highly disruptive.

“Thanks to the great organisation and communication of the entire team assigned to the project – as well as the client, NPg and third-party suppliers – we were able to conduct the engineering works efficiently and successfully energise the site.”

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