210 x 297mm

September 2014

TRANSMISSION

CAPITALDELIVERYHinkley Point CConnection Project

National Grid is expecting to invest

around £1 billion to reengineer high

voltage electricity lines in the

Southwest of England. Hinkley Point C

nuclear station and a new, gas fired

station at Seabank will add 4.5GW of

new generation, driving this need.

Passing through sensitive areas of

outstanding natural beauty, the project

will involve the use of new technology

(T-pylons), underground cables (8.5km)

and existing rights of way. The Hinkley

Point C Connection Project solves a

key energy issue in an innovative way.

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Collaborative design process promoting

innovative solutions to address visual

amenity and environmental considerations

Extensive planning challenges met by upfront

stakeholder engagement

National Grid’s first ‘Strategic Wider Works’

project

Planning strategies applicable to future major

infrastructure development projects

RE REORGANISING NEGOTIATING

REENGINEERING

210 x 297mm

Hinkley Point C Connection Project

Project map

Project timeline

Engineering our future networks

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The T-pylon, winner of an International Competition

held in 2011 by the department of Energy and

Climate Change (DECC), the Royal Institute of British

Architects (RIBA) and National Grid, is being used on

this project

Launched to help identify what the next generation

of pylon might look like, the competition attracted

250 entries from around the world

At approximately 35m, the winning design by Danish

architects Bystrup, is around 10–15m shorter than a

traditional 400kV steel lattice pylon

Stakeholder engagement drives innovation

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Under the 2008 Planning Act, the Hinkley project required

significant up-front planning and community engagement

and consultation

National Grid debuted community ‘pop-up’ shops to

communicate with stakeholders

Engagement led to the development of lower, more visually

appealing T-pylons

Plan involves using existing rights of way, new design and

underground cables in sensitive areas to reduce impact to

the community and environment

249 pylons will be removed and replaced by only 141

Learnings from this process will be applied to future

Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects

Estimated £1 billion programme

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Construction of a 57km 400kV electricity transmission

connection made up of 48.5km of overhead line (109 T-

pylons and 8.5km of underground cable)

Construction of a new 400/132kV substation at Sandford,

North Somerset

Extension of the existing 400kV substation at Seabank

Modifications to existing overhead lines at Hinkley Point

Construction of three 400kV cable sealing end (CSE)

compounds along the route of the connection

Modifications to 132kV substations at Churchill, Portishead,

Avonmouth and Seabank

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Development of plans and consultation Application Construction

Formally examine the application and make a decision

The Planning Inspectorate formally examines the application and makes a recommendation tothe Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change – the final decision rests with them

Examination anddecision

2016–2022