When E.ON Energy, a UK power company, identified internal corrosion to water cooling lines that serviced its Connah’s Quay gas-fired Power Station in Flintshire, North Wales it called on Fyfe FRP’s UK approved applicator, Construction Composites UK (CCUK), to carry out emergency repairs. The company’s design and maintenance team had
A solar energy park is due to be developed by Audi in partnership with energy firm E.ON on the roofs of two logistics centres of its plant in Győr in Hungary, which covers about 160,000 square meters. The construction of the roof system will start in August 2019, while the renewable
Work on a wind turbine farm in West Sussex has been halted by spawning fish; the work has been halted on the farm after just started on the foundations for the farm. The work is scheduled to resume in July on the Rampion Offshore Windfarm so not to disturb shoals
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
When E.ON Energy, a UK power company, identified internal corrosion to water cooling lines that serviced its Connah’s Quay gas-fired Power Station in Flintshire, North Wales it called on Fyfe FRP’s UK approved applicator, Construction Composites UK (CCUK), to carry out emergency repairs. The company’s design and maintenance team had carried out internal surveys of the lines and learned that the concrete encased steel pipes were corroded internally to a point where an exposed section of the pipe, that sat above the ground was at risk of failing. The team understood that was a clear risk of failure if repairs were not immediate to the 900mm diameter cooling water lines. These lines are used to carry water from a nearby river to the condensers at the power plant. If left to fail the power plant would be forced to halt operations resulting in a lengthy disruption to the power supply of E.ON’s residential and business customers. The company would also be faced with a costly bill to replace the condenser lines all together. The corrosion was likely caused by decades of continuous use; for large diameter pipes made from steel, ductile iron, or concrete, corrosion can lead to deterioration – threatening the structural integrity of the networks. CCUK worked with E.ON’s technical team to design an external composite wrap system that was able to take the full pressure of the line should a fail occur. Using a combination of bidirectional and unidirectional composite Fyfe FRP strengthening system, an emergency repair was carried out. A section of the pipe was excavated to allow surface preparation including crack repair works to the host pipe and the formation of a smooth transition where pipe diameters reduced using specialist epoxy mortars. All works were carried out during planned shutdowns and each repair took days under reduced pressure without significantly affecting the running of the station. The power station now has a fully encapsulated high pressure repair, complete with UV stable coating in place, that is deigned to take the full water pressure within the line. CCUK’s Operations and Marketing Director, Jamie Dempster said: “Our specialist repairs team was called to survey the 900mm diameter cooling water pipes, owned by E.ON Energy. We quickly determined that Fyfe’s carbon fibre strengthening system would be the quickest and simplest way to repair the pipes. “It took one week for our team to strengthen and restore the pipes, allowing them to regain their original structural integrity and continue normal function”. Jamie said the UK power and water industries are in need of innovative solutions which will provide structural strengthening, the upgrade of internal pressure capacity and a significant extension to the service-life of these structures. “Time and cost-effective technologies are required, while minimum disturbance and disruption of everyday operations during any repair work are necessary,” he added. Fyfe’s FRP system is extremely lightweight, versatile, and stronger than steel and being a carbon fibre product, it is environmentally friendly, making it a well-suited repair solution for the UK energy giant, whose ethos states “we’re taking action for climate”. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
A solar energy park is due to be developed by Audi in partnership with energy firm E.ON on the roofs of two logistics centres of its plant in Győr in Hungary, which covers about 160,000 square meters. The construction of the roof system will start in August 2019, while the renewable energy generation will start at the beginning of next year. “We are committed to the economical use of resources and therefore want to keep the environmental impact of our production as low as possible. Approximately 70 percent of Audi Hungaria’s heat requirements are already covered by climate-neutral, geothermal energy. Our goal is to have completely CO2-neutral plant operation in the future. With the construction of the solar-cell park, we are now taking a further step to achieve this in terms of power supply,” said Achim Heinfling, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi Hungaria. Audi will be providing the roof areas of the two 80,000 square meters logistics centers for the construction of the solar energy park, as part of the joint project with E.ON Hungaria. From its part E.ON will build and put the park into operation, consisting of 35,000 solar cells, and will continue to operate it, with an annual output of more than 9.5 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity. This corresponds to the annual energy requirements of 5,000 households. Thanks to green electricity from regenerative sources, about 6,000 tons less carbon dioxide will be released into the air. “Our company is committed to solutions supporting a sustainable future. The widespread use of solar energy is an integral part of this endeavor. We are pleased that E.ON has gained Audi Hungaria’s trust and a new, nearly 25-year partnership has started between the two companies,” added Zsolt Jamniczky, E.ON Hungaria’s Board member.
Work on a wind turbine farm in West Sussex has been halted by spawning fish; the work has been halted on the farm after just started on the foundations for the farm. The work is scheduled to resume in July on the Rampion Offshore Windfarm so not to disturb shoals of the black seabream in their spawning season. The construction of the windfarm also had issues earlier last month when they discovered an unexploded ordnance so their teams will be spending this break trying to find a solution for the situation. The 116 turbine initiative is hosted by E.On and the UK Green Investment Bank said the the construction remains on track and is unaffected so far by the recent issues with the construction. Experts are currently determining the best course of action moving forward. A spokesperson for the project stated that 18 turbine foundations had now been installed and, as planned, piling and further work has been paused to help protect the black bream spawning season that could potentially slow down progress on the project. A spokesman for MMO (Marine Management Organisation) stated that the recent spawning issue was identified after the MMO recently received a marine licence application with the intention of disposing the unexploded ordnance and relocate boulders. The MMO placed a condition of the licence, stating that the work could not be completed between the 15th of April and the 30th of June in any year due to the natural environment. The condition can be waved if Rampion can provide evidence of high sufficiency stating the form of noise modelling proving beyond reasonable doubt that there will be no effect to the spawning black seabream. Boulder relocation can go ahead during the restricted person, though the MPI Discovery vessel used to lay new foundations has left the site and will return when major works resume.
