How does infrastructure get upgraded?

[Radian]

We live in a semi rural area half way between a town and a small village. On the other side of the narrow connecting road was nothing but farmer's fields. That's all changed now as a developer has started work on well over 300 new homes. How this ever got planning is beyond me as it fills a swathe of green fields with unbroken housing linking a  town and a formerly outlying village. Whatever.

 

But when we built our house there were a number of hurdles to overcome regarding the services, e.g. sewage which required us to install a pump to get up into the nearest connection. The electricity supply was also supposed to have caused a headache for the DNO. Gas was available but the line was constantly needing repair in the main road and has always seemed to me to be on its last legs. I can only describe the Water pressure as being unpredictable.  Bearing all this in mind, I can't see how 300+ homes are going to get 'plumbed in' to our local infrastructure without detriment.

 

This leaves me pondering on the practicalities for the developer - where do they 'tap in' to things like electricity? There must be a Higher Voltage cable in the road as there's a nearby substation with transformers for the nearby houses. I don't think there's room for more at this site and they claimed they were reaching maximum capacity 25 years ago. So will they get a new one built with transformers for their development? What about water? I've always been fascinated by the hidden world of underground services but now it's becoming more of a morbid fascination. What, if anything, should I watch out for as this development starts to go live?

[markc]

Sadly the Construction Levy is seen by planners as a way to get the infrastructure upgrades needed in an area.

wakefield needed a relief road … and it was built through open fields. Some of us noticed it was built with loads of junctions that didn’t go anywhere. Few years later and all these junctions are being extended and becoming new housing estates, result …. The relief road is quickly blocking up.

the developers also pay for schools, sewage treatment works and electricity supply upgrades etc.

[Conor]

It varies from sector to sector and locality to locality. Here's my knowledge from the water industry. I've worked with various companies across the UK.

 

The utility company normally have something like a new connections team. This team receives all new development details. The first job is to model and understand the impact the development will have on the network. 

 

A small development connecting to a major trunk network fed from a new treatment works will have no impact and the developer will just have to cover the connection costs.

 

Infrastructure is designed and built with a lifespan and capacity that takes into  account models population growth.

 

Issue is old infra hits capacity at some point. Then, if a development will mean a network can't provide a reliable service, then alternative designs and proposals are looked at. This could mean a longer pipe to connect to a different main, upgrading a pumping station. In this case, the developer would be expected to pay for a portion of the works (this is where it varies, in NI there is a min and max limit) before being connected. 

 

A developer near me was not allowed to connect their surface water system to the combined sewer as the local plant is at capacity (there's a filar whiff in the air during heat rain periods) so they had to lay their own pipe system to a suitable discharge point (river in our back garden!). Of course they were 100% liable for these costs.

 

There are also various other local taxes and levies that are separate and monies here go to general funds, don't know anything about that.

Edited February 28, 2022 by Conor

[SteamyTea]

Weston Power Dirstribution has a map.  Don't know what any of it means (can't be bothered to look into the detail).

https://www.westernpower.co.uk/network-flexibility-map-application

I shall let others look at the detail.

[Radian]

2 hours ago, markc said:

Sadly the Construction Levy is seen by planners as a way to get the infrastructure upgrades needed in an area.

 

The Construction Levy for this development will be something in the region of 3 million but that doesn't buy much road. It's about the market value for four detached properties around here. Can't see it bringing much in the way of improvements.

 

2 hours ago, Conor said:

A small development connecting to a major trunk network fed from a new treatment works will have no impact and the developer will just have to cover the connection costs.

 

I have no feel for the likely capacity of the network and the way consumer usage is modelled. I know there is this wonderful notion of "Diversity" in domestic electricity loading. No doubt a similar concept applies to the other services.

 

1 hour ago, SteamyTea said:

Weston Power Dirstribution has a map.  Don't know what any of it means (can't be bothered to look into the detail).

 

The word salad glossary didn't help me at all e.g.

 

"This is one of 4 scenarios from National Grid’s Future Energy Scenarios (FES). WPD create Distribution-FES (D-FES) and our scenarios align with National Grids Scenarios. The D-FES translates the national FES to a regional (licence area) level. The FES scenarios are used on the flexibility map to give a scenario based view into the future as to what flexibility services may be required in an area. Users can select the a scenarios they think are most likely to play out over time. "

 

Words like Flexibility, Scenario, hint at things like adapting to change so I guess you're pointing me in the right direction here.

 

 

As I type this I'm idly looking to a distant 400kV "L12" pylon coming in from the GSP at Nursling from the sofa in my garden room and wondering how much more current the two routes into Weymouth and Portland can take before another transmission line has to be constructed. Probably enough for another 300 houses, but 3000?

[Carrerahill]

12 hours ago, Radian said:

This leaves me pondering on the practicalities for the developer - where do they 'tap in' to things like electricity? There must be a Higher Voltage cable in the road as there's a nearby substation with transformers for the nearby houses. I don't think there's room for more at this site and they claimed they were reaching maximum capacity 25 years ago. So will they get a new one built with transformers for their development? What about water? I've always been fascinated by the hidden world of underground services but now it's becoming more of a morbid fascination. What, if anything, should I watch out for as this development starts to go live?

 

I can speak from the electrical aspect here, although I can also comment fairly accurately on other utilities because I am fully aware of them and the hurdles they pose to developments.

 

So the question you might first ask is, "Who applies for the utilities" well that would be, in most cases the M&E consultants. I probably do an application a month and for me the application is based off my proposed load assessment, sometimes this can be tough because the first question is gas or electric heating, if they go gas it makes life easier, as soon as they go ASHP or other electric then the can of worms is open and its never simple in the early stages.

 

I would then fill out an application form to the relevant DNO (i.e. UKPN or SPEN etc.) and sometimes I also send them to some IDNO's (Energetics) and ask for X number of supplies at X rating. So in a block of 10 gas heated flats, I would ask for 10 x 2.5kVA single phase supplies and 1 no. 50kVA three phase supply for the Landlord (less if no lift) all fed from a single cable head into a main service board.

 

The next step is I then get an email from the local connections manager who will say, yes that is fine, give me your site drawings, which we would have from the developer, architect etc. and they go and do a drawing and quote. Or they come back and say you will need a substation in which case they will quote you from the local HV network. Other variables are forms for solar. 

 

See below, red is 11kV and brown is LV ready to go directly into a house or office etc.

 

 

 

If they have capacity on the LV they give you it, if not you have to put in your own sub. Developer pays for it. We did a hotel last year the sub was for 1 hotel and 1 restaurant, £150K. 

 

Water and gas are very similar actually, gas there is high pressure and low pressure networks, so a local tap can be had from wherever needed. Water may need upgraded or new run in. Openreach or Virgin media, fairly easy to be honest. 

 

This of course all assumes the plot is not 2 miles from anything. 

 

As with everything there are variables and exceptions. I have known HV lines to be brought in over a mile to a new development, subs are also sometimes considered at master planning stage. You may have a plot and they will say, no capacity, but actually there is, they just have it earmarked for a 5-10 year master plan and it might never get used, but it was put there as part of a bigger plan. The above site is a commercial estate. They put in a sub and allotted x amount to each plot, this way every plot will be able to get a connection. Oddly on this site there is also an Energetics sub, must have stacked up for them financially. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 28, 2022 by Carrerahill

[SteamyTea]

2 hours ago, Radian said:

As I type this I'm idly looking to a distant 400kV "L12" pylon coming in from the GSP at Nursling

Is that the old Fawley oil powered site?

[Radian]

5 hours ago, Carrerahill said:

If they have capacity on the LV they give you it, if not you have to put in your own sub. Developer pays for it. We did a hotel last year the sub was for 1 hotel and 1 restaurant, £150K

 

Thanks @Carrerahill Good to see some actual numbers.

 

4 hours ago, SteamyTea said:

Is that the old Fawley oil powered site?

 

I think its just where the transmission system connects to the distribution system, but no doubt it used to be fed from Fawley which is nearby.

 

I found an SSEN spreadsheet which details current and future estimates for demand which is quite interesting. Weymouth's load forecast is shown as falling in 23/24 compared to 22/23.

[SteamyTea]

3 hours ago, Radian said:

I found an SSEN spreadsheet 

Interesting.

Why is the PF for AH Bunkers Hill Solar A - Solar and Battery 7% lower than the others, except for BOC Fawley (a customer), which at 65% is worrying.

[Radian]

BOC should be able to afford some serious PF correction if they're paying 1.5 times as much as they need to. I wonder where all their kVAR is going?

BTW that spreadsheet is published in this Long Term Development Statement

 

[SteamyTea]

8 hours ago, Radian said:

I wonder where all their kVAR is going

To heat the local environment.

 

Having a quick, early morning, look at the Weston Power site, they have a value tool.

https://www.flexiblepower.co.uk/locations/western-power-distribution/value-calculator

 

Looking at Mullion you can earn £34,513.66 for connecting up 1 MW of generation (terms and conditions apply).

But for Isles of Scilly it is £2,809.56

And the Hayle-Camborne is only £1,239.42

 

Not sure that that correlates to, but I know a flower farmer at Cury, told him 20 years ago to get some big turbines on his land.