EM - February/March 2015 - (Page 15)

15 Feb/March 2015 * www.esb.ie/em Generation & Wholesale Markets An insight into Asset Development 8 For the second part of our Insights series, we're taking a closer look at how we bring energy opportunities to life with our Asset Development team. Main purpose Asset Development identifies and develops power generation investment opportunities in the energy sector across Ireland and the UK. These opportunities run across a wide range of technologies, including CCGT, wind, biomass and solar PV. All of this activity supports ESB's strategic goal of being a generation business of scale, helping us be competitive when it comes to generation capacity, renewables and the AllIslands market share. Putting purpose into action There are typically four phases in the lifecycle of any generating asset - Concept, Development, Construction and Operation. See the diagram opposite for more details. The first three phases are managed by Asset Development and the assets are handed over at the commercial operation stage to the Generation business, which manages them during the operational phase. This includes developing the business case for investment, developing realistic construction costs through a competitive tendering process, estimating market revenues and lifecycle Operations and Maintenance costs. A comprehensive financial analysis of the business case with key sensitivity analysis is crucial before seeking capital investment approval from the ESB Board. This phase can typically take from 18 months (wind projects) to 36 months (CCGT) 880MW rises from the ground at Carrington. Woodhouse Windfarm progresses. How the team manage the projects All projects in Asset Development are managed through a rigorous governance and management methodology called PDM (Project Delivery Methodology), which was developed in house in ESBI/ESB to manage large capital generation projects based on best industry practice. Asset Development is very much supported by the expertise in ESBI Engineering, Legal, Insurance, Procurement, Tax, Property, Treasury, Finance and HR functions within ESB, as well as our colleagues in G&WM, throughout the various project development stages. Many projects do not make it through any of the rigorous stages above, particularly the Concept phase. So the team is very focused on building up the initial pipeline, making sure we can develop enough viable projects to meet ESB's strategic generation needs. Asset Development also acquires other projects at various stages CONSTRUCTION (From 18-40 months) of their development cycle to complement ESB's own development pipeline This includes issuing orders for the construction of the project based on and slots these new projects into the tendered prices, managing the construction and commissioning phases of the appropriate stage of the development project safely to time budget and quality, including conducting formal acceptance tests and bringing the project into commercial operation. This phase can cycle. typically take from 18 months (wind projects) to 40 months (CCGT). Plus, the complex nature of these projects makes this very much a longterm game - take a look at the diagram opposite to get a feel for the timescales OPERATION (20 PLUS YEARS) involved in bringing projects to life, just as an example. This covers the operating life of a generating plant running to many years, There are some exciting projects gofor example Moneypoint is almost 30 years in operation and Ardnacrusha is 86 years in operation. ing through the earlier development phases - watch this space for news over the coming months! The four phases of Asset Development in more detail. By John O'Connor, Carrington Programme Director Keeping busy * During the Christmas break, security and the house-keeping crew continued to work, with the latter focused on having the site ready for the safe arrival back and gradual transition of activities for over 1,000 construction workers. * The mechanical and electrical erection works continue - the installation of medium and low voltage cables also progressed. * We successfully tested the power station earthing grid and the National Grid reviewed its design, approving the connection to the High Voltage switchyard earthing grid. * We also continued work on the construction of the plant's cooling water tower, which is a very signifi- This includes early-stage business development work through to obtaining all of the consents necessary for a project, including obtaining land options, the grid connection, planning permission and other licences such as Integrated Pollution Control Licences (IPCL). This phase can take up to 10 years, with obtaining a grid connection being a particular challenge. DEVELOPMENT (From 18-36 months) Constructing Carrington: our story continues ESB Sustainability Awards Many congratulations to everyone at Carrington for winning the Environmental category award as part of the overall 2014 Sustainability competition! Please see page 3 of EM for more details about our win and the Awards overall. CONCEPT (UP TO 10 YEARS) Coolkeeragh wins gold in environmental survey cant structure and takes up a large footprint within the overall site. Racking up the stats Just looking back over 2014, we have a number of interesting people-related achievements: * 1,000 people on site * Over 2,000,000 hrs completed * 3 babies arrived * 1 wedding * 1 granddad * 2 new staff from ESBI * 5 graduates developed * 2 hours 5 mins recorded in Dublin City Marathon * 3rd overall in the Manchester Night Run. Christmas Event The site team really pulled out all the stops during December and played a major part in the City of Salford Lions Club Christmas dinner for 100 people from the local area. This was a real success and our own in-house Santa even made a guest appearance. (See the ESB International section for more details/pictures.) n Constructing the cooling towers. Aerial shot of progress, January 2015. (Photo courtesy of Alstom.) Edward Wright, of Business in the Community, presents Alan Campbell, Coolkeeragh Plant Manager, with a Gold Award for the plant's performance in an ARENA Northern Ireland environmental survey. CB&I inspecting a gas valve. Cable installation carried out by Dornan electrical contractors. GWM's Coolkeeragh Power Station recently received a Gold Award in the 2014 Business in the Community ARENA Northern Ireland environmental survey. Many congratulations go to the team! This is an excellent achievement, which recognises the ongoing work and commitment of the station to minimise the impact and risk to the environment. The survey looks at various aspects of how Coolkeeragh's business operates - from day-to-day performance, longer-term strategy and policy, and sustainability. As ever, there is a focus on continuous improvement - the challenge for the station now is to maintain the gold standard for 2015. n http://www.esb.ie/em

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of EM - February/March 2015

News
Innovation
Generation & Wholesale Markets
BSC & Electric Ireland
EBS Networks Ltd
Health & Habitat

EM - February/March 2015

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