Progress at Dounreay West Substation: Sustainable Solutions for Complex Ground Conditions

Aerial photo of the Dounreay West substation site

It’s always rewarding to see progress photos coming straight from our project sites. Today, we are excited to share a closer look at the Dounreay West 275/220kV substation.

This project serves as the sister site to the Finstown 220/132/33kV Substation, which recently earned a spot on the front cover of New Civil Engineer magazine.

Collaborative Engineering Excellence

All civil and structural engineering for the Dounreay West development was carried out by BT Bell. The success of the project is also a testament to strong multi-disciplinary collaboration, featuring valuable support from:

  • TGA Consulting Engineers: Providing specialist M&E design.
  • Ergo Projects Ltd: Delivering architectural design services.

The substation is being constructed for SSEN Transmission by the main contracting partnership of Siemens Energy and BAM UK & Ireland.

Overcoming Complex Ground Challenges Sustainably

One of the most fascinating engineering challenges on this scheme involved the decision to construct the platform directly over an area of made ground, which comprised re-worked clay from a nearby excavation.

To validate this approach safely, a thorough Continuous Surface Wave (CSW) testing regime was carried out by SoilSafe Ltd, followed by detailed settlement analysis. This rigorous evaluation demonstrated that the existing ground possessed sufficient stiffness to prevent unacceptable long-term settlements.

By taking this path, the project team successfully avoided the excavation and replacement of thousands of tonnes of material. This clever engineering solution delivered multiple benefits:

  • Reduced overall construction time and project complexity.
  • Significantly lowered heavy vehicle movements on local roads.
  • Decreased construction waste and substantially reduced associated carbon emissions.
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