Sandford substation welcomes new transformer
National Grid has successfully delivered a new 178 T transformer, to Sandford substation site, a part of the Hinkley Connection Project.
Image source: National Grid
UK, Sandford: National Grid has successfully delivered a new 178 T transformer, to Sandford substation site, a part of the Hinkley Connection Project.
The Hinkley Connection Project is a new 57 km high-voltage electricity line that will connect six million homes and businesses to new sources of low carbon energy. It will help the UK to meet ambitious targets to achieve net zero by 2050. The Sandford substation – one of 300 substations throughout England and Wales – is at the heart of the project.
The transformer will play a key role in changing the voltage at the Sandford substation so that electricity can be supplied safely to homes and businesses, or to allow it to travel along National Grid’s network of overhead lines and cables.
Weighing in at 178 T, the transformer weighs more than a blue whale (145 T) and stands at 4.75 m tall, meaning that it is nearly as high as a two-storey house.
Owing to its considerable size and weight, a specialist transport vehicle was used to safely deliver the transformer. The 70 m-long transport vehicle collected the transformer from Bridgwater where it had been stored since making the journey from South Korea, where it was constructed.
“The Sandford substation is the heart of the Hinkley Connection Project. The delivery of the transformer takes us one step closer to project completion and towards our goal of helping the UK to meet its net zero ambitions by 2050,” commented Michael Painter, Lead Project Manager for National Grid.
Source: National Grid