Warrington-based leading engineering and services provider Bilfinger UK has won a multi-million-pound contract with German hydropower specialists Voith Hydro to deliver a range of mechanical, electrical, maintenance and installation services at the Ffestiniog power station in North Wales.
The deal forms part of significant restoration project set to be completed by 2020, which will involve the refurbishment of two generating units. The power station, commissioned in 1963, was the first major pumped storage system to be built in the UK and provides electricity for more than half a million people living in the region.
Bilfinger UK will remove the plant’s existing vertical generator, turbine unit and mechanical control systems and replace electrical infrastructure, including the protection system and transformer control boards, as part of the contract. The company will also blast and paint the turbine spiral casing and pump internals.
The delivery team will have a peak workforce of approximately 40 employees.
Phill Maurer, Managing Director for Bilfinger UK, said: “The Ffestiniog power station plays a critical role in powering North Wales and providing a response to changes in grid supply and demand, as such, delivering a smooth and efficient renewal will be key to ensuring the plant continues to provide the level of response for the future stability of the grid system. Our extensive experience in mechanical and electrical engineering, together with our wider service provision, means we are well placed to deliver this significant scheme.”
Bilfinger UK provides its partners with unified, multidisciplinary support across the asset lifecycle to drive new efficiencies and reduce costs, with services including design and build, automated control and electrical systems, installation, commissioning, and operations and maintenance. The company is one of the UK’s leading providers of integrated engineering and technical services to the process industry and the energy sector and employs more than 2,500 people. It is part of German engineering and service group, Bilfinger SE.
