Projects under development and construction
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About the developer
Statkraft is at the heart of the UK's energy transition.  Since 2006, Statkraft has gone from strength to strength in the UK, building experience across wind, solar, hydro, storage, grid stability and EV charging.
Statkraft is a global company in energy market operations, with approximately 5,700 employees in 21 countries.
Across our UK business we employ over 300 staff in England, Scotland and Wales and play a key role in helping the global business reach its goal of 9 GW of development wind and solar power by 2025.
About the project
Greener Grid Parks are facilities comprised of zero carbon technologies which stabilise the grid, allowing more renewable energy to be transmitted through the network. Keeping the grid stable means ensuring the amount of electricity flowing through the grid always remains level.
They are not a wind farm or solar farm, but are a collection of buildings which look similar to barns, warehouse and shipping containers. These buildings house large machines with built-in flywheels to provide grid stability without emitting any carbon dioxide.
Ultimately these improvements will increase the amount of renewable energy we can use and reduce our energy bills.
National Grid Energy Systems Operator (NGESO) have identified Swansea North as an area which requires more grid stabilisation, due to the amount of renewable energy being generated across the UK.
At Swansea North, the close proximity to the new NGESO substation avoids lengthy transmission cables, and ensures an efficient connection to the grid whilst minimising disturbance and cost.
Winter 2023.
We are still investigating options for visual mitigation due to the unique landscape of the site. We will consult closely with the council on the need for and types of visual mitigation to be used.
A Greener Grid Park is usually comprised of few buildings next to an existing electricity substation. If you were passing it, and you didn’t know, you’d probably think it was a barn, a storage unit, or a shipping container.
Yes. Our first Greener Grid Park is 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. We have also won contracts from National Grid Electricity Systems Operator for two grid forming battery projects at Coylton and Neilston in the South West of Scotland.
We also have similar projects in Ireland.
During construction, we will work to keep noise levels from the site to a minimum. We will follow all conditions imposed on construction activities by the Council if our application is successful. The noise levels will stay below the level which is set out by the council in the planning permission and we will only work within the set hours allowed by the Local Planning Authority.
The equipment, once installed and operational, will be clad in noise insulating materials and housed in noise attenuation buildings. The specific supplier to be used will be selected once planning consent has been granted. Once the technology suppliers have been selected, and detailed designing has commenced, 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 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.
We anticipate the construction phase will last approximately 12 - 18 months.
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.
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 are still consulting with the Swansea Council about how we can improve biodiversity on the site and our plans for this will be included in the planning application.
The planning application will be accompanied by a drainage impact assessment including the provision of sustainable drainage measures.
Safety and traffic
Once the facility has been constructed, there will be minimal vehicle trips to the site during the operation of the development as the site will be unmanned. There will be occasional visits for maintenance and inspection of the facility, so there will not be noticeable impact on traffic flows in the area.
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 which might include scheduling Abnormal load vehicles arriving at night, HGV delivery timings and any restrictions being agreed with the council and the selection of the most suitable construction access routes. Details of construction access would be secured in an enforceable Construction Traffic Management Plan.
The site will be fenced off using high security-fencing.The site will be fenced off using high-security fencing to ensure safety to the public.
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.
Emergencies
Safety is our first priority, which is why all of our sites are fitted with controls that 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 who will be responsible for the site. 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.
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-based sprinklers) 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 measures 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.
Benefits
This project, if constructed, will help the UK move towards its zero carbon emissions targets by increasing the stability of the electricity grid with Synchronous Compensator technology. It will also bring a reduction in energy prices and spend by National Grid on constraints.
If consented the Swansea Greener Grid Park will benefit from a Community Benefit Fund of £20,000 per annum from the start of construction for the life of the project. Our community benefit is the first of its kind for grid projects.
The community benefit fund of £20,000 per year would run for as long as the Greener Grid Park was in operation. This fund will be 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.