A leading civil engineering firm has played a key role on the £2.4 billion NeuConnect project as work ramps up on the first Anglo-German energy link, one of the world’s largest interconnectors.
NeuConnect will create the first direct link between the UK and German electricity networks, with new converter stations on the Isle of Grain in Kent and the Wilhelmshaven region in northern Germany connected by 725km of land and subsea cables.
Having secured a multi-million-pound contract with Siemens Energy, Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK constructed a 50,000m2 development platform for a 1,400-megawatt converter station on the Isle of Grain site, as part of the enabling works package.
The Ruthin-headquartered company carried out earthworks, drainage, created two attenuation ponds, and installed a 600-metre ducting corridor for the utility infrastructure into site, which is to run alongside a newly constructed access road. A team of 25, including four apprentices undertook the work for the civil engineering contractor.
The completion of the enabling works package earlier this year allowed Siemens Energy to start on the huge concrete base for a new UK converter station, with works on the above ground ‘super structure’ to begin shortly.
Jones Bros contract manager Gareth Jones said: “Interconnectors are key component to the global renewable energy market, and it is wonderful to play a part and utilise our civil engineering expertise for this new addition to the sector’s landscape.”
Jones Bros appointed fellow North Wales-based company Caulmert to assess existing ground investigation records and explore how the soil could be optimised and reused through stabilisation ahead of constructing the platform.
On the guidance provided by the engineering, environmental and planning consultancy, Gareth added: “The stabilisation design work Caulmert carried out, allowed us to recycle 40,000m3 of on-site material. This prevented the need to import and export that quantity, reducing traffic in terms of wagon movements.”
The NeuConnect project will help to boost energy security and resilience in the UK and Germany while also helping to integrate renewable energy sources in both countries – independent analysis suggests that the scheme could deliver a net reduction in carbon emissions of more than 13MtCO2 over 25 years.
Established in the 1950s, Jones Bros owns one of the largest plant fleets in the UK and employs approximately 500 people.
The company is currently working on contracts in various sectors including highways, flood and marine defence, waste management and renewable energy around the UK.
The company runs an award-winning apprenticeship scheme, which has produced nearly 40 per cent of its current workforce, with many of its senior managers having started out as apprentices or in a trainee role. It has recruited hundreds of apprentices over the years.
