The Challenge

The number of workshop units already located on the Estate was exceeding the electrical capacity of the existing pole mounted transformer. This was posing problems for the tenants and for those managing the Estate who had also identified the potential to expand. We were challenged with the task of carrying out load assessments for each of the individual workshops. This was in order to provide our client with a recommendation regarding the necessary size of the new substation which would also need to incorporate the energy generated by the proposed 300kW solar photovoltaic installation. We agreed requirements with our client. These included the need to replace the existing 300 kVA pole mounted transformer with a 1 MVA ground mounted substation providing capacity to cope with the proposed expansion. We were also commissioned to design the reactive power requirements for the existing workshops to ensure maximum efficiency.