Gilberts ventilation systems help manage transfer to renewable energy

A rooftop ventilation system from Gilberts Blackpool was recently installed to help maintain airflow at two converter stations.

The biggest ever single investment undertaken by SSEN Transmission is now transmitting renewable energy from the north of Scotland. The company’s Caithness-Moray HVDC transmission link has incorporated the rooftop ventilation system from Gilberts Blackpool to help maintain optimal airflows at the two converter stations as it is key that particular temperatures and atmospheres are maintained.

Caithness-Moray uses High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) technology to transmit power through a 113km subsea cable beneath the Moray Firth seabed between Spittal and Blackhillock.  The two converter stations house 6 supergrid transformers – the largest of their kind in the UK weighing up to 250 tonnes each. The HVDC converter stations process power from on and off-shore wind farms to serve the entire northeast of Scotland and beyond.

Gilberts designed and manufactured the 10 rooftop ventilation terminals for the converter stations entirely in-house. Each 1.3m 2 with a 1m shaft opening, the penthouses ensure an adequate flow of air into the main DC halls at both locations. A double layer of external louvres with motorised dampers has been engineered to enable appropriate airflow whilst preventing weather ingress at very exposed, aggressive environments.

Gilberts’ Technical Director, Roy Jones, comments: “The penthouses are among the largest we have ever made and had to be precisely designed and engineered to accommodate the performance levels required. However, as we, uniquely, are entirely self-sufficient in terms of research, design, manufacture and testing, we could confidently work with the contracting team knowing whatever we promised could be delivered.”

Contact:

Gilberts of Blackpool,
Gilair Works,
Clifton Road,
Blackpool,
FY4 40T

Phone: 01253 766911
Fax: 01253 767941

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