UK: Drain Center to Supply Specialist Pipework for Humber Gateway

Drain Center has won a contract to supply specialist pipework for a new £736 million high-profile wind farm construction project, located approximately eight kilometres off the East Yorkshire coast. The 12 month contract, currently valued at £300,000, saw Drain Center selected by PBU (UK) Ltd of Sedgefield, Stockton-On-Tees, to provide more than 33 kilometres of polyethylene pipework for the onshore connection to E.ON’s Humber Gateway Offshore Wind Farm, which is being undertaken by Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions.

Drain Center’s black ECD 180mm is being installed underneath open countryside, roadways and crossings. It will carry 132 kV high voltage cables from the shore near Easington to a new substation being constructed near Saltend in East Yorkshire.

To meet the special requirements of the project, Drain Center has provided bespoke length pipe coils in different sizes which are appropriate for the needs of each individual site and location. Installation of the pipework and cabling has involved trenchless, no-dig drilling services which have been carried out by PBU.

Mark Jeffries, key account manager for utilities, civil and pipeline products for Drain Center, said: “We’re pleased to have been selected for this high profile, renewable energy installation. Our expertise, bespoke products and services are playing a major part in ensuring this important wind farm project reaches a successful conclusion and will be ready to supply electricity to the grid once completed.”

The Humber Gateway Wind Farm project is expected to comprise 73 wind turbines that will offer a combined capacity of up to 219MW of electricity – enough to power approximately 170,000 homes and more than one and half times the number of houses in Hull.

Drain Center is a leading national supplier of utility products and services to the professional construction market. With more than 80 branches across the UK, Drain Center branches stock a wide variety of products for both above and below ground applications and the utilities industry ensuring customers can get the products they want when they need them.

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Press release, December 13, 2012; Image: E.ON