2007-06-01 - New Breamish Street substation, based on ABB’s innovative PASS MO switchgear, will provide an extra 18MVA of capacity for redevelopment projects on the north bank of the River Tyne
ABB has won a £5.4 million, two-year, turnkey contract from CE Electrics UK to design and construct the new 66/11kV Breamish Street substation on a brownfield, urban site in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The contract was awarded within ABB’s major, long-term, turnkey framework contract with CE Electrics UK for the design and construction of new and replacement substations throughout the north east of England.
The new primary substation is required by CE Electric UK to deliver an additional 18MVA of firm capacity to meet the growing demand for additional power, and need for load transfer, created by the significant urban redevelopment programmes currently taking place on the north bank of the River Tyne. The restricted space available on the enclosed site makes it ideally suited as one of the first UK projects to take advantage of ABB’s innovative PASS MO space-saving hybrid AIS (air insulated switchgear) and GIS (gas insulated switchgear) modular switchgear technology, which can save up to 70 per cent of the space normally required for a conventional AIS substation, while also reducing the need for civil works such as foundations, steelwork and cable trenching operations.
The scope of the Breamish Street project includes: the design and construction of a new substation comprising two 66/11kV 15/30MVA CER transformers, a 66kV PASS MO in/out unit and a 13 panel 11kV switchboard; the installation of a 66kV PASS MO feeder unit at Fossway, the closest CE Electric UK substation; the creation of an underground 66kV XLPE cable link between the two substations. ABB is providing a complete turnkey design, construction, installation and commissioning service, including all associated civil works and ancillaries such as protection panels, LVAC, battery charging and 11kV cabling.
Technical challenges
The project presents a particular technical challenge for ABB, since the Breamish Street site is not only compact in size, it is also hemmed in on all four sides by a hotel, a pharmacy, a residents association and the 18th century St Ann’s church. That is why ABB has proposed a solution based on its space-saving PASS MO switchgear. A further technical challenge will be the construction of the 66kV cable route between the two substations, which will have to cross the Ouseburn Bridge and a major road junction, as well as the creation of a cable transition T-joint into the existing feeder cable between Close and Fossway substations.
Editors notes on PASS MO
The PASS MO design is based on a hybrid of ABB’s traditional AIS and SF6 metal-clad GIS switchgear units. Rated at up to 145 kV, it integrates all the necessary substation switchgear bay functions, including a circuit breaker, one or more combined disconnector/earthing switches, bushings for connection to single or double busbar systems and a current transformer in one compact module, eliminating the need for separate pieces of equipment for each function.
ABB will deliver the PASS MO modules for the Breamish Street project as completely pre-fabricated, pre-wired and pre-tested units. They will fit into a standard truck container for delivery without any special packaging. No special arrangements will be needed for shipping and transportation, and once on site just a simple 30° rotation of the outer poles is needed for the final layout.
A key feature of the PASS MO is its virtually maintenance-free design. The line and busbar disconnectors, as well as the earthing switches, are integrated within the breaking chamber. This gives these components complete immunity from all environmental conditions, thereby ensuring lifelong reliability, and eliminating routine maintenance of high voltage parts. This overcomes a major weakness of AIS substations.
About CE Electric UK
CE Electric UK distributes electricity in the North East, Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire through its subsidiary companies NEDL and YEDL. CE Electric UK (www.ce-electricuk.com) operates and maintains the electricity distribution network that delivers electricity to more than 3.7m premises. The network consists of more than 31,000 substations, 33,000 km of overhead line and 66,800 km of underground cable. Its area of operation covers 25,000 square kilometres, running from North Northumberland south to the Humber and Northern Lincolnshire, and from the East Coast to the Pennines.
ABB Background
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 109,000 people.