Frequently asked questions about Hartmoor Greener Grid Park project by Statkraft
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About the developer
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About the project
Statkraft’s Greener Grid Parks are facilities where various services can be provided to the National Grid to enable higher utilisation of new renewable energy sources from across Great Britain, which are vital to decarbonisation of our energy system, and reaching net zero carbon emissions in the UK by 2050.
Renewable technologies are intermittent, as the amount generated is dependent on weather conditions. It is therefore necessary to balance demand and supply.
Our grid network needs to keep up with the rapid progress renewables has made in the UK. Sometimes National Grid, as the electricity system operator, has been forced to shut down wind farms and run gas power stations to keep the system stable. More projects like this one at Hartmoor will mean that running gas powered stations will become a thing of the past.
Great Britain operates the fastest decarbonising electricity system in the world. Our Greener Grid Parks deliver a solution to the engineering challenge of removing fossil fuels from the UK's energy supply and maximising the amount of renewable energy that can be distributed through the grid.
This helps protect the environment whilst also reducing costs to consumers.
National Grid have identified the north-east of England as an area which requires more grid stabilisation due to the amount of renewable energy being generated. At Hartmoor, the close proximity to the substation avoids lengthy transmission cables, and ensures efficient connection to the grid whilst minimising disturbance and cost.
There is an identified need for a grid stabilisation facility in the local area, and National Grid will be holding a tender to select a scheme that will be delivered. Only one project is likely to be built in the local area.
National Grid has identified a local need for more grid stabilisation due to the amount of renewables being generated. The close proximity to the site of Hartmoor substation avoids the need for lengthy transmission cables, ensuring efficient connection to the National Grid and minimising disturbance.
The Hartmoor site has been selected by Statkraft as a front runner for a tender with National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO) starting late 2021 with contracts awarded in late 2022 and construction starting in 2023.
A Greener Grid Park helps stabilise power on the electricity grid, helping increase the amount of renewable energy to be delivered onto the network. Although at times renewable technologies can meet the energy demand on the grid, sometimes there has been a need to pause the renewable supply and switch on fossil fuel power plants to stabilise the network. This costs both the environment and the public.
A Greener Grid Park would be able to provide the same stability services as a fossil fuel plant but in a clean, green way, helping make fossil fuels a thing of the past. Our plans at Hartmoor will help achieve a renewables-ready grid network.
The grid stabilisers at a Greener Grid Park take and "store" energy from the grid. With the help of flywheels, the stabilisers store kinetic energy in the same way that a turbine does in a fossil fuel power plant.
This project does not rely on any nearby electricity generating projects (solar, wind etc) to operate.
The synchronous compensators (also known as rotating stabilisers or Energy Management Systems) will provide stability services to the grid. National Grid have identified that this area in particular needs the stability services Statkraft can provide, which is why the project is located very close to the Hartmoor substation.
It is not possible in advance to say where the electricity that will enter and exit the Hartmoor Greener Grid Park was generated.
Yes. Our first Greener Grid Park has recently started operating in Keith, Moray. We are also nearing completion of a second Greener Grid Park in Liverpool. The technology used in these projects are synchronous compensators like that we are proposing at Hartmoor.
We also operate two battery projects in Ireland as well as operating several projects in the the Netherlands and Germany battery projects can provide stability in a different way but are not being proposed at Hartmoor.
We are still in the development phase, so at this point we are keen to hear local residents' comments and questions.
We would love to keep you informed. You can register on this website to ensure you are kept up to date, or use the contact us form to let us know your postal address. Get in touch
We anticipate the construction phase will last approximately 18 months.
Indicative photomontages and designs of the proposed development are available to view in the Project Documents section of the website.
The building colour will be selected for its ability to blend in with the existing substation building which we would expect to be moss green but will seek further input from the Council on this topic.
Our plans include extensive planting to help screen the development. This includes new hedges, trees and shrubs.
A future planning application will include detailed assessments of construction traffic and access routes, and measures will be taken to minimise the impacts on local residents. These can include careful scheduling of deliveries, and the selection of the most suitable construction access routes. Details of contruction access would be secured in an enforceable Construction and Environmental Management Plan.
Although we do not hold detailed information on this issue, we do not anticipate the delivery of Hartmoor Greener Grid Park to have a major effect on local house prices.
There is an identified need for a grid stabilisation facility in the local area, and National Grid will bAlthough we do not hold detailed information on this issue, we do not anticipate the delivery of Hartmoor Greener Grid Park to have a major effect on local house prices.
Benefits
If consented the Hartmoor Greener Grid Park will benefit from a Community Benefit Fund of £20,000 per annum. Our community benefit is the first of its kind for grid projects.
In addition to this the innovative grid stabilising technology planned for Hartmoor will provide the National Grid with ancillary services, such as inertia, using zero carbon infrastructure. A grid without inertia is one that is unstable, suffers from issues of power quality.
Renewable energy sources do not provide inertia, unlike fossil fuel technologies, so the grid needs our technology to support the growth of renewables and decarbonise the electricity network. In addition, National Grid spend millions per year stabilising the grid by turning fossil fuel plants on, but with this revolutionary technology at Hartmoor, we can save consumers money whilst supporting National Grid’s target to operate a zero carbon grid by 2025. The system operator, NGESO, state that their Stability Phase 1 Pathfinder Tender would save consumers up to £128m. You can find out more about the need for grid stability services on the National Grid ESO website(External link).
With Greener Grid Parks providing grid stability, this reduces the need to turn on fossil fuel power stations - so this project will also significantly contribute to the UK Government’s 2050 Net Zero target.
In addition to the economic and environmental advantages this project will bring, there will be local benefits in terms of jobs and business growth during construction. There is also an opportunity to consider educational gains and other benefits the development could potentially deliver – we would be happy to discuss this further with you.
The community benefit fund of £20,000 per year would run for as long as the Greener Grid Park was in operation. These are usually administered by an independent third party, and would cover an area of benefit agreed with local people.
Yes. We have a local suppliers registration link on the website so please complete that if you are a local business and interested in the project, or would like to recommend one.
We will work with groups such as the Chamber of Commerce to maximise opportunities for local suppliers.
Safety and traffic
Once the facility has been constructed, there will be minimal vehicle trips to the site during the operation of the development. There will be occasional visits for maintenance and inspection of the facility but the site will generally be unattended, so there will not be noticeable impact on traffic flows in the area.
The transport statement is still being produced and will be submitted as part of the planning application with details on deliveries. Before construction starts, a traffic management plan will be secured by planning condition, and be produced to ensure main roads are used to reduce traffic flow.
Details of the route to site, vehicle movements and mitigation measures will be provided in the traffic management plan prior to construction. Main roads will be used as much as possible.
Abnormal load vehicles will arrive at night to avoid disruption to traffic flow in the area. HGV delivery timings and any restrictions will be agreed with the council and Highways England and conditioned via the traffic management plan.
Service personnel will drive to site in small vehicles so there will be discernible impact to existing traffic levels. We do not envisage any HGV’s visiting the site in the first few years of operation, and they will only be required for any major refurbishments if needed.
Once operational, the site is expected to only be attended by a service technician for essential maintenance.
We will follow all conditions imposed on construction activities if our application is successful. We will work keep noise levels from the site to a minimum as much as possible. We cannot guarantee that there will be no weekend working during construction, but we will seek to minimise this noise if this is permitted and required.
The site will be fenced off using high security fencing at a minimum of 2.4m high. We welcome your view on the colour of the fencing to ensure it blends in with the natural landscape and adjacent substation.
No, the lights will be installed with motion sensors and will not be in constant illumination to prevent light pollution. Once operational, the site is expected to be attended by a service technician only for essential maintenance.
The specific equipment to be used will be selected once planning consent has been granted. Once the technology suppliers have been selected, noise studies will be carried out and provided to the council. The development will not exceed noise limits set by the council to prevent negative impacts on residential properties in the area. The equipment will also be clad in noise insulating materials. Noise levels will be controlled by the council via a condition on the planning consent and we are also working with the council’s environmental health officer (EHO).
A future planning application will include detailed assessments of construction traffic and access routes, and measures will be taken to minimise the impacts on local residents. These can include careful scheduling of deliveries, and the selection of the most suitable construction access routes. Details of contruction access would be secured in an enforceable Construction and Environmental Management Plan.
The feature shown on the plan to the east is a new access for construction and operation. Once complete, this access will rarely be used. Our plans will take full account of the properties close to the site, and we expect that the new access would have negligible noise impact on properties at Nine Acres.
Environmental considerations
The preservation of biodiversity and wildlife onsite is a top priority for Statkraft, which is why we are committing to provide ecological enhancements in order to obtain a net biodiversity gain to the site of at least 10%.
We have consulted with Hartlepool Borough Council throughout the pre-application stage and are producing a Landscape Planting Plan to demonstrate the new boundary planting to accompany the Development.
As a global energy company, strategically focused on scaling renewable energy solutions, we believe that we can be instrumental in driving progress toward achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Though we have numerous initiatives that can be linked to different SDGs, our positive impacts are naturally concentrated around the goals for Climate Action (SDG 13).
We contribute directly to climate change mitigation by displacing fossil fuels whilst meeting growing energy demand.
The planning application will be accompanied by a drainage impact assessment including the provision of sustainable drainage measures. The site is not one designated as likely of risk from any type of flooding.
A tree survey is currently being undertaken to assess the impact of the trees on the access track and the report will be submitted with the planning application. Access will be designed to minimise the impact on these trees. Any trees which are required to be removed will be compensated by additional planting onsite.
Emergencies
All of our sites are fitted with controls which monitor the site 24/7 and can remotely shut down the system. There will be stringent emergency measures in place, which are outlined in the emergency plan produced before construction starts. In addition, we will have Senior Authorised Persons (SAP) with sufficient competence to be on call 24/7. We will also engage a local security company to respond to security alarms within a set time frame.
Statkraft will implement procedures and plans for emergency situations and will run regular emergency preparedness exercises in order to ensure that all personnel in the organisation, including third parties, are aware of how to act and react if any unplanned situations should occur. Agreements will be made, and cooperation established with local emergency services for training and exercises in order to secure own personnel, third parties, environment and properties.
Some examples of measures we would take include:
1. To separate transformers from adjacent structures and from each other by Fire Wall
2. Resistance barriers (fire wall), spatial separation, and provided with an enclosure.
3. Spatial separation between the transformer and the synchronous compensator building or the facing elevation wall of the building.
4. Automatic fire, gas and smoke detection (beam based) within the buildings.
5. Automatic fire suppression (e.g. water and/or gas basedsprinklers) within the buildings.
6. Use of fire-resistant non-combustible materials/enclosures around the components.
7. 24/7 remote control of the temperature of the components.
Fire safety meaures will be detailed within the planning statement and will be detailed further within the fire safety strategy report with the input from all suppliers and the Statkaft operations team.