Meet the T-pylon, carrying electricity into the future...
THEY’RE the huge metal masts that have become controversial landmarks across the British countryside for 100 years, but deep in Somerset something is starting to change.
During the last century 90,000 electricity pylons were built to carry 4,300 miles of cable, to keep the lights on up and down the land. But now a new generation of pylons aimed at having less impact on the environment are under construction and they’re a long way from the steel structures we’ve lived with for so long.
More than 30 of the world’s firstt-pylons have been erected as part of
National Grid’s £900million investment to transport electricity produced at Hinkley Point C nuclear power station.
They will be among 116 pylons, similar in construction to wind turbines, along a 36-mile route, bringing low-carbon energy to six million homes and businesses in the South-west.the pylons will run between Bridgwater and Portbury, apart from a stretch through the Mendip Hills, where the new cable goes underground.
As part of the project, 249 of the old electricity pylons will be torn down.
The new design by Danish firm Bystrup was chosen from 250 entries, in an international competition organised by National Grid, the Royal Institute of British Architects and the government, in 2011. The pylons stand 114ft tall, 50ft shorter than their predecessors. But they can still transmit 400,000 volts along cables held in diamond earring-shaped arms.
The first electricity pylon in the UK was built at Bonnyfield, near Falkirk, in 1928, following a design competition run by the Central Electricity Board.
Down the decades the A-frame structures have been labelled as everything from eyesores to health hazards.
But the first new design for nearly a century could also split opinion, despite the aim of reducing impact on the local environment and surroundings.
Chris Bennett, acting president of National Grid Electricitytransmission, says: “We are always looking for innovative new ways to mitigate the impact of our infrastructure on the natural environment, and projects such as thet-pylons are a great example.
“This new design forms part of our significant investment in the network in England andwales, adding capacity on to the grid to deliver increasing amounts of low-carbon energy and support the UK’S drive towards its net-zero target.
“We look forward to completion of the construction before assessing if and how they could be used on other parts of the network.”