Glasgow substation to receive £10m green upgrade

2021-11-2 SP Energy

SP Energy has announced plans to invest more than £10m in new environmentally friendly technology at an electricity substation in Glasgow, as the city welcomes the UN COP26 climate change conference.

The investment forms part of a larger £50m modernisation project at the Windyhill substation which will take four years to complete and create 40 jobs. The substation was originally commissioned in the 1960s and is now being brought firmly into the 21st century thanks to this investment in new technology.

The substation, located between Bearsden and Clydebank, is SP Energy’s second site in the UK to roll out this sustainable technology to minimise the environmental impact of our operations.

The new gas-insulated busbar technology has been developed in partnership with Hitachi Energy and uses a greener alternative to sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), the most commonly used insulator for electrical equipment in substations across the UK. SP Energy plans to roll out this technology across our UK network in the coming years.

This project will avoid more than 3,000kg of SF6 being added to the network. This represents over 30% of the commitment made by the firm for their RIIO-T2 plan, which aims to avoid at least 9,700 kg of SF6 being added to the network during the price control period from 2021 to 2026.