Bridging the power gap at expanding science park
Client: Award-winning science park
Location: Kent, UK
Sectors: Contracting
The Challenge
Provide additional power to expanding site
Aggreko was asked to supply a power generation solution for a science park. The 54-acre site consists of 84 buildings, with over 500,000 square feet of laboratories and offices. The site had a 5.1MW main power supply, but expansion plans meant that this would soon become insufficient.
Specifically, the building of a new pharmaceutical factory at the park, at a cost of £100 million, would require the power supply to be increased by a further 3MW. This increased demand would put too much strain on the site’s energy infrastructure and the National Grid, and could result in an interrupted power supply. Such disruption would be unacceptable to the park’s tenants.
Consequently, the customer identified for the need of a temporary bridging gap solution to power the new factory while a more permanent option could be developed. The park’s stakeholders were keen to opt for a gas generator solution, due to an ease of availability, environmental factors, and the fact this would be a long-term installation.
Project fact file
The Solution
An adaptable, technical bridging gap solution
The customer required a supplier that would be a safe pair of hands, and could provide a reliable solution and effective aftercare for a project of this scope and size. Drawn to the company’s excellent reputation and experience supporting similar gas projects, the company contacted Aggreko about providing a potential solution.
Following demand analysis and site scoping, we were contracted to supply the customer with an 11KV solution for the site’s supply base load application, allowing for 3.1MVA base load, pending a planned load study.
We provided a full turnkey solution for the installation: from inception, managing all aspects of the design and delivery through to installation, operation and decommissioning. This included undertaking a full electrical design covering earthing arrangements, protection and inter trip settings, alongside a full set of risk assessments and method statements specific to the project.
Following detailed site inspections, the original package was adapted to accommodate for the park’s electrical network being slightly smaller than anticipated. As a result, we provided two separate gas solutions instead of just one power island package. These packages each included a single 1120kW and 310kW generator.
I have been very impressed with how Aggreko has worked throughout this project. There was a lot more work required than I realised would be necessary, but I didn’t need to contract out any other roles to get this work done.
Aggreko sorted everything, from the civil engineering to logistics, while using as much legacy infrastructure as possible when providing the solution. Whenever there was any potential disruption, they were able to identify the issue and sort it out, so the package’s performance remained in accordance with our initial plans.
Aggreko’s ability to provide such a complete service and solution package has been a huge relief for me. I have already endorsed their services to other people in our portfolio, and as a landowner, I would not hesitate to recommend Aggreko to anyone.
Site Director
Science Park
The Impact
Reliable power with efficiency gains
We were able to supply the customer with a consistent power generation solution that could be stepped up to cater for the new factory’s gradually increasing power demand. Alongside mitigating any energy shortfall, a key feature of this project was our ability to respond quickly to aid any on-site issue promptly, and above all, effectively.
Consequently, the performance of both packages has matched the customers expectations throughout, matching the eventual demand for 3MW. Because of this, the customer was able to generate electricity on-site at a cheaper rate than they can buy from the grid, resulting in further efficiency gains.
As a result, the customer had full confidence in Aggreko’s ability to provide and maintain gas power packages, and would engage the company’s services again for further projects. We are continuing to work with the customer to provide temporary generators, while they also review existing, permanent power arrangements and infrastructure.