Member Article

Joint venture complete phase one works at Vattenfall’s Pen y Cymoedd Wind Energy project

Jones Bros and Balfour Beatty, the joint venture contracted by Vattenfall to deliver the construction civil and electrical works BOP (Balance of plant contract) for England and Wales’ largest wind farm, have now successfully completed phase one of the multi-million pound development and the delivery and erection of the turbines is now underway.

The civil works for the project began in February 2014, with work including the construction of the concrete foundations for the 76 turbines, the laying of 56km of electrical cables, and the installation and upgrading of 80km of access tracks.

The joint venture will now focus on re-instatement and final cable terminations for Vattenfall’s flagship Pen y Cymoedd Wind Energy Project, situated on the Natural Resources Wales Managed Estate. The project is expected to begin generating electricity later this year.

Eryl Roberts, (pictured) joint venture project manager of the Pen y Cymoedd Wind Energy Project, said: “Completion of phase one is a major milestone and we are really pleased that the project is right on schedule.

“All of the joint venture team has worked extremely hard to reach this stage of the project and I want to thank them for their efforts.

“Pen y Cymoedd has given our trainees and apprentices terrific on-site experience, and provided valuable employment opportunities in the local area.”

More than 70 per cent of all plant operatives have been sourced from within 30 miles of the Pen y Cymoedd site, and a total of 12 apprentices have been employed as part of the project.

The wind farm will utilise turbines from manufacturer Siemens, that have been specially selected to maximise the amount of energy generated. The turbine bases required between 520m³ and 610m³ of concrete. A total of 6000t of reinforcement was used.

The Pen y Cymoedd Wind Energy Project will be the largest onshore wind farm in England and Wales, and when fully completed next year it is expected to generate enough electricity to power 140,000 homes.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sam Harris .