A487: Caernarfon to Bontnewydd Bypass
Background
During a recent £135M road project in North Wales Balfour Beatty and Jones Bros joint venture made substantial environmental and commercial savings by deploying Prolectric sustainable products.
The project started in 2014 with construction starting in 2019 and involves the construction of a new bypass to carry the A487 around Caernarfon and the adjacent villages of Llanwnda, Dinas and Bontnewydd. The current route is prone to high traffic congestion at peak times.
The 9.8km route will remove traffic congestion from the existing route and improve commuter journey times.
Challenge
Noise and air pollution affects the quality of life for residents along the A487 with the high volumes of traffic. As this was already a major issue, reducing the air pollution and noise made by the construction works would be crucial for the residents in the area.
Jones Bros needed an alternative to traditional diesel fuel generators, which would have only added to the problem. During the construction phase the main compound of temporary site offices had grid power. However, as the new bypass is almost 10km in length there was a requirement to provide welfare facilities for workers along the route.
As there is no access to mains power, normally these compounds would be powered by diesel generators that run 24/7. Balfour Beatty and Jones Bros identified that this wasn’t an efficient use of the generators as they are a major contributor to C02 emissions on site.
The Solution
ProPower – SOLAR HYBRID GENERATOR
- The project saw the deployment of Prolectric’s ProPower – a revolutionary solar/hybrid off grid temporary power solution.
- ProPower offered a cleaner, quieter, more sustainable method of delivering temporary power to the site.
- The unit consists of a 3kWp retractable solar array, 30kWh Li-ion battery storage, 22kVA diesel / HVO generator and an internal fuel tank.
- Being trailer mounted, the ProPower unit was easy to transport and deploy on site which reduces transport costs and install times.
- During a two week trial in March 2021 the ProPower ran for over 60% on solar and battery and reduced diesel usage by over 317 gallons which meant a CO2 reduction of over 3.3 tons in only two weeks.
- The trial demonstrates how sustainable power solutions such as the ProPower can help the construction sector work towards sustainability targets whilst still being commercially viable.
ProPower – FEATURES
- Solar powered, the ProPower reduced emissions and fuel, reduced noise and required less maintenance.
- No mains power or trenching was required as the ProPower is a fully off-grid power solution.
- Mobile, easily deployable and able to power up to 6x 32ft site cabins
- Delivered fully charged and set up on site with a Smart Distribution Board by the Prolectric team.
The Result
3.3 tons of CO2e
317 gallons of fuel
60%
76 kWh
Downloads
Download the Case Study to assist in your business case.
What our clients
have to say
The JV welcomed the opportunity to participate in the trial of this new sustainable power solution, confirming it as a viable and more sustainable alternative to traditional generators, and look forward to working with Prolectric again in the future.
Jon MuffProject Manager at Balfour Beatty
We’re excited to work together
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