What was the Client Requirement?

In order to deliver on the UK Government’s Net-Zero targets, Scotland has seen an intense focus on renewable energy in recent years with the majority of this being wind power, which is the fastest growing renewable technology in Scotland. As part of this ambitious project, Apogee was instructed to perform a Utility Search of two large sites near Douglas West Wind Farm (one of several such sites Apogee have undertaken) to identify any utility risks or challenges which could impact the development. Wind farm extensions and new builds typically involve very large search areas and often involve highly important electrical connections, and so present a unique challenge when collating and analysing utility information.

What was the Apogee Solution?
Apogee provided the client with a Full Utility Report detailing the site’s utility situation, with two main affected utilities highlighted as relevant to the site. Wind Farms by their nature are constructed in rural areas with less utility density than for an urban site, however the large area covered (In this case many tens of square kilometres in total) necessitated collecting hundreds of pages of plans for various utilities, and a thorough visual check for quality assurance of each. This site also included very large access roads due to its remote location, which further increased the number of plans required.

What was the result of the report?
The Report found that there were main utilities within the site area, as well as multiple telecoms assets. Scottish water mains and Scottish Power HV Cables crossed the site at multiple locations (Both supplying the wind farm and transmitting to other parts of Scotland) and Telecoms assets were identified from BT and Zayo, as well as wireless masts. In addition to these, the site was found to be within the Coal Authority’s marked areas – specifically above a Coalfield.

Why was the client delighted?
The Reports were delivered on time and without any delays, and provided the client with exactly the data they wanted in formats which were easy for them to use. For larger sites like this, the Apogee team often have to split the Reports into multiple PDFs because of the file size limits and the loading speeds of the data. Apogee's delivery method using Microsoft SharePoint was very effective for this project, as it handled the large document sizes and the complex file structures well.

Who else would buy this?
Any large-scale scheme promoters. Those developing windfarms or solar farms as well as battery storage sites or any other large scale infrastructure developer. Apogee's search reports and Fastview combined drawings are ideal for Solicitors, Clients and Project Managers, Developers, Local Authorities Consultants, Architects, Design & Build Contractors, Highways Scheme promoters and Surveyors. Anyone involved with a residential or commercial development who would benefit from understanding the risks and costs which come from utilities would be well placed to talk to us.

Even if you are not the source of funds for the development and costs savings are of secondary importance to you, Apogee can help you avoid other inconveniences such as delays and reduce the risk of any accidents or strikes of existing plant, as well as improve due diligence and help you achieve compliance under the relevant guidelines and regulations, namely PAS128 and HSG47. Apogee have decades of experience in managing such conflicts across their capable team, a member of whom was on the PAS128 steering committee and who was personally involved in the drafting of PAS128 Quality Level D.