McGowan Wraps Up £7.2m Wind Farm Cabling Project for SSEN

Published 09 Dec 2022

Wind Farm Cabling

November marked a major milestone for McGowan Environmental Engineering delivering the largest project they have undertaken to date, at Moy Wind Farm, south of Inverness.

In mid-November, the Aviemore-based civil and environmental engineering contractor successfully installed over 60km of 33kV high voltage underground cable consisting of three circuits in trefoil for Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution at Moy. Utilising cable ploughing, open-cut methods and Horizontal Directional Drilling, a huge multi-department team effort from McGowans over the last 12 months culminated with the circuits being connected to the national grid in recent days.

SSEN awarded McGowans the Moy cabling contract in October 2021 as part of a £7.2m project to deliver a total of 81km of cabling across Inverness and Caithness.

Due to increased wind farm yield from Moy Windfarm and the newly established Burn of Whilk windfarm in Caithness, the projects involved the installation of new 33kV single-circuit and triple-circuit underground cabling, fibre-optic cable, cross-bonding and intermediate earthing across rural and urban areas.

Speaking about wrapping up the vital £7.2m projects, Darren Hendry, Managing Director of McGowan Environmental Engineering, said:

“We are all delighted at Mcgowan Environmental Engineering to have recently completed the combined Moy and Burn of Whilk cable installation projects. This marks a great milestone for our team within the industry as we look to grow organically within the energy sector through our innovative and people-focused approach.”

Donald L. MacKinnon, Head of Large Capital Delivery (SHEPD) at Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, commented: “Both Moy and Burn of Whilk projects ran very smoothly considering the distances, terrain and number of landowners involved – this is testament to the hard work and professionalism shown by the project teams at McGowans and SSEN.”

Douglas Munro, Senior Project Manager at McGowan Environmental Engineering, said: “The projects have been a huge success thanks to the combined effort of all parties involved: SSEN, landowners, our supply chain, and the local communities who have been impacted by the works. We are appreciative of our highly skilled site delivery team at McGowans, delivering these projects safely to the highest standard in very challenging conditions.”

Innovative Cabling Technology Deployed

McGowan Project Manager, Steven Mitchell, adds: “Vital to the timely and cost-effective delivery of the project at Moy – with minimal impact on the sensitive landscape – was the deployment of McGowan’s proprietary new cable wrapping technology, Eco Cable Protect. The innovative cable protection, provided both projects with an efficient and effective installation solution, which is set to revolutionise the rural cabling sector.”

Eco Cable Protect allows on-site preparation, production and installation, reducing project delivery times and costs whilst keeping any environmental impact in sensitive landscapes and habitats to a minimum.

Project Spotlight: Burn of Whilk Wind Farm Onshore Cable Installation

Client: SSEN Distribution Location: Caithness, South of Wick (Scotland) Dates: October 2021 – February 2022 Description: to deliver 23.5-kilometers of 33kV cabling through the installation of new single-circuit and triple-circuit underground cabling plus fibre-optic cable – including cross-bonding and intermediate earthing – across rural land. Burn of Whilk Wind Farm: owned and run by Eneco UK and became fully operational in September 2015. The nine-turbine wind farm has a power capacity of 22.5MW and has the ability to generate the equivalent energy needs of 12,500 households per year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94kiMIbptQs

About McGowan

McGowan Environmental Engineering Ltd was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Aviemore, within the Cairngorms National Park. We have experienced continued growth and development to become a highly respected contractor, with clients in both the public and private sectors and a proven track-record in delivering civil and environmental engineering projects across the UK & Ireland. Our underlying focus is to deliver quality and value, where we can earn trust and develop longer-term, mutually beneficial working relationships. Every client and project is different, which is why we offer bespoke solutions with a tailored service offering, delivered by a dedicated and skilled project team. We respect our clients and the environment, taking great pride in who we are, what we do and how we do it.

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McGowan Wraps Up £7.2m Wind Farm Cabling Project for SSEN

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