UK — A 128-tonne transformer manufactured by Siemens Energy is being delivered by ship and trailer to National Grid’s Stella West Substation this weekend.
National Grid UK is replacing an old transformer at Stella West Substation, which has now reached the end of its life. The new transformer will be transported through Newcastle City Centre and across the Tyne Bridge.
After having travelled most of its journey by sea, the new 128-tonne transformer will arrive at Shepherd Offshore Technology Park in Wallsend on the evening of Saturday 12 June. The final stretch of the transformer’s journey will be by road in the early hours of Sunday 13 June and will involve crossing the Tyne Bridge, National Grid said in a press release.
Once loaded onto the delivery vehicle (a 16-axle girder trailer connected to two Trojan ballast trucks), the transformer will depart Shepherd Offshore Technology Park around 12am on Sunday 13 June. The transformer will then travel to The Quayside, where it will cross the Tyne Bridge, before making its way to the Stella West National Grid Substation in Blaydon.
The road delivery is expected to take around five hours and the transformer will travel for 17.5 miles at approximately 12 miles per hour. The transformer is expected to arrive at Stella West Substation around 5am on Sunday 13 June.
National Grid, alongside its delivery partner Mammoet, transformer manufacturer Siemens Energy, and the police and highways authorities, have spent months carefully planning the delivery and route to keep disruption to traffic and people who live in the area to a minimum, the company said in a press release.
“Transformers play a vital role in helping to supply electricity, without interruption, to millions of people. We recognise this is a busy route, but we’ve been planning this for months to make sure we can continue to deliver power reliably to the local area while keeping disruption to a minimum,” said National Grid project manager George Hawkings.
Source: National Grid UK