A collaborative approach by Scotts Electrical Services and Hilclare Lighting was key to the success of the largest energy storage array in the UK and Ireland.
The leading Northern Ireland electrical contractor has recently completed the installation of the largest energy storage array in the UK and Ireland – and utilised the skills of Hilclare Lighting in the process.
Scotts Electrical Services Ltd was the Balance of Plant contractor for AES UK & Ireland – part of one of the world’s largest power companies, The AES Corporation – to create the UK’s largest battery energy storage facility at Kilroot Power Station, just outside Belfast.
Officially opened in February, the Kilroot Advancion® Energy Storage Array provides 10 megawatts of interconnected energy storage, equivalent to 20 megawatts of flexible resource. This AES facility will increase the efficiency, flexibility and cost-effectiveness of the electric grid, placing Kilroot at the cutting edge of global power delivery and fundamentally sustaining the system upon which our society depends.
Gordon Nixon, Managing Director of Scotts Electrical Services, is proud of the company’s involvement with the project.
“Not only it is the largest energy storage array of its kind in the UK and Ireland, but it is also the joint largest, to date, in Europe,” he said. “To be involved in a project of this innovative nature is a significant step forward for our company and one we plan to build on.
“This work for AES is an ideal example of the Scotts’ ethos expressed through our slogan; Empowering Society. We employ our unequalled knowledge, experience and skills to help keep power flowing, wherever it’s needed; from homes and businesses to industries, airports and hospitals.
“Through this approach, we installed the innovative new energy solution from AES, a major global player that is itself driven by the mission to ‘improve lives by providing safe, reliable and sustainable energy solutions’.”
This highly complex installation was set against the challenge of a tight timescale, with the project getting underway in August 2015 and officially operational on January 1, 2016.
Scotts Electrical Services delivered an engineered solution to make the system as effective as possible.
“We were under pressure although our professional team pulled out all the stops to hit the first deadline for substantial completion ahead of schedule and made sure we easily met the final completion date.”
The company’s success is based around a collaborative approach and that was reflected in the lighting as design of the overall project.
“We have worked extensively with Steven McMurray at Hilclare Lighting on a wide range of projects, so we were confident in their ability to deliver an effective solution within our overall design,” added Gordon.
“Given the timescale and the unique challenges this project offered, we are delighted with the final result.”
CHALLENGE
Steven McMurray, Northern Ireland Project Engineer for Hilclare Lighting, loves the opportunity of tackling a tough lighting challenge on projects such as Kilroot Advancion® Energy Storage Array.
“This was a totally unique project for us and highly specialised, so we were really put to the test,” he said. “There was very little that we could call upon in terms of past experience, so instead we had to use the skills we have developed across a wide range of projects. But we have a great working relationship with Scotts Electrical Services and having that in place helped us significantly.
“With low ceilings and significant air-conditioning ducting placed within a complex wiring structure, we had a lot of different variables to counteract.
One of main issues was balancing energy efficient lighting with the CCTV monitoring of the site. We installed Catalona T5 fittings with individual sensors that dim when no-one is present but maintain a sufficient lighting level for CCTV monitoring. Getting the balance right between energy efficiency and practicality was massively important.”
In addition to the BESA (Battery Energy Storage Array) rooms, Hilclare also designed a solution for the control room and transformer room, with Seville LED panels, Varas LED low bays and Santos LED emergency lighting LEDs all incorporated into the lighting system.
“This could be the first of many similar projects and having the experience of working on such a unique job places us at a real advantage. With the combination of our quality products and our expertise in lighting design, we hope to build on this success in future.”
Hilclare Lighting – T: (NI) Steven McMurray, Northern Ireland Project Engineer, on 07710 073250 or
(RoI) Wyre Lighting Ltd on 087 259 3272
W: www.hilclare.com
Scotts Electrical Services
T: (NI) 028 9045 7225
W: www.scottses.com
