38
MAY-JUNE 2015
d
&
ri
SITE REPORT
B
uilt during theColdWar eraof
the 1950s, theNATO aviation fuel
storage andpumping station that
Princenhad todemolish and then carryout
site remediationonwas used to transfer
aviation fuel shipped to theport of Zeebrugge
to anetworkof fuel pipelines that serviced
military facilities and civil airports across
Europe. Clearing the site represents the first
phaseof amuch larger scheme– the Stevin
project – that aims toupgrade the region’s
electricity grid. Thework is beingdone for
Elia, Belgium’s high-voltage transmission
systemoperator, whichoperates 5,000miles
(8,000km) of lines andunderground cables
throughout the country.
Theproject aims toupgrade the electricity
gridbetweenZomergem andZeebrugge to
allow for the transmissionof electricity from
the growingnumber of offshorewindfarms
inBelgianwaters (and incidentally allow the
voltage levels; and thirdly, the constructionof
twonew stations inBruges andDammewhere
electricity transmissionwill transition from
underground tooverhead facilities. Anew
high-voltage substationwill alsobebuilt in
Zomergem.
TheZeebruggepart of theoverall project
is in itself amajor undertaking, with the
sitebeinghome to16 transformerswhen
construction is complete, aprocess thatwill
take some four years. Itwill be suppliedby
sixhigh voltage transmission lines from the
windfarms offshore and from the substation a
400kV transmission linewill carry electricity
inland.
The StevinProject is crucial in connecting
offshorewind farms and renewable energy
facilities inWest Flanders, and is considered
vital toBelgium’s achieving its goal of having
13%of its electricity supply coming from
renewable sources by2020. Theproject
will boost economicdevelopment inWest
Flanders andother projectswill also establish
power linkswith theUK andGermany.
Founded in1998byWesleyPrincen, the
companyhas evolved from construction to
more specialised electricityprojects.With its
small pool of very carefully selectedoperators,
all ofwhom are certified towork inproximity
of livehigh-voltagepower lines, the company
has participated innumerous complex and
demanding electrical development schemes
in thepast and is currently involved in the
biddingprocess for other elements of the
Stevinproject, aswell as anumber of other
electricity infrastructureprojects that aredue
to commence in thenext few years.
Princen currently is doing almost all the
earthwork anddemolitionwork for electricity
infrastructureprojects forAlia in theFlanders
regionof Belgium, including the replacement
Belgian specialist demolition
contractor Aannemingsbedrijf
PrincenNV has cleared
a former NATO aviation
fuel facility in Zeebrugge,
Belgium, tomakeway for
a new substation for Elia,
the country’s electricity
transmission operator.
D&Ri
reports
Making
level ground
shut-downof four nuclear power stations in
Antwerp). The current full capacityof the
availablehigh voltage transmission lines has
alreadybeen reached, butmore offshorewind
farms are in theplanning stage, hence the
requirement for increased capacity
Theproject consists of threemain
components. Firstly is the layingof adouble
380kVhigh-voltage linebetweenZomergem
andZeebrugge, someof it overhead and some
of it underground; secondly, the construction
of anewhigh-voltage substation inZeebrugge
(the site that Princenprepared), whichwill
convert electricity from380kV toother
Princen’s new Volvoworking
on the second fuel storage
tank – the thickness of
the protecting reinforced
concrete is obvious
