.jpg)
Taking Engineering to New Heights
Known for delivering technical turnkey generator solutions for some of the UK’s most prestigious buildings, Bells Power Solutions recently surpassed themselves, installing six FG Wilson 2,250 kVA, 11 kV generator sets at Level 57 of 22 Bishopsgate, in the very heart of London city. At around 260 metres above the street below, these are believed to be the highest installed generator sets in the northern hemisphere.
Bells Power Solutions, who has been an FG Wilson for 30 years, are contracted to TClarke and Multiplex, who are engaged in the construction of 22 Bishopsgate. The building, described as a “vertical city”, is a state of the art 62 storey skyscraper, standing 288 metres tall and offering 1.275 million square feet of premium space for business and leisure
Since 2014, Bells Power Solutions and FG Wilson have been working together closely with the building’s designers and constructors to ensure the generator sets could be successfully integrated into the building’s design, taking account of their weight, noise, vibration and fuel systems, as well as fully meeting the buildings’ power needs. FG Wilson P2250-1E emission-optimised generator sets, powered by Perkins 4016-61TRG2 engines, were selected for the project to ensure reliable back-up power with lowest possible emissions. The radiator package for the generator sets was specially designed to ensure the lowest coupled airflow requirement for cooling, whilst also limiting the noise breakout to the external to 65 db(A) @ 1m. “We are talking about a Boeing aircraft noise reducing it to normal street level”, says James Murphy, Managing Director of Bells Power Solutions.
All six generators are synchronised together on a common HV switchboard interfaced with the PLC/SCADA system of the building itself. The generator sets synchronised together can deliver 13.5MVA of power at 11 kV, enough to power a small town. The complex synchronisation system has all been tested in an integration FAT off site to ensure communication and compatibility, whilst helping to reduce interface and testing time on site.
Alan Williamson, M&E Manager at Multiplex said that his team “witnessed every component of this FG Wilson system being fully tested to ensure it performs as expected. And it does every single time.”
The installation, completed in December 2019, took over six weeks as each component had to be lowered through the outlet attenuator penetration on Level 58 / 59 slab and then placed in the Level 57 generator room floor. An intense period of testing and commissioning, including HV loadbank testing and integrated system testing, will follow to make the project ready for handover during Q2 of 2020.
James Murphy commented “The last five years of planning and work has led up to the turning on of the generator sets just before Christmas”. Everything about 22 Bishopsgate is impressive: the design, the floor space, the height of the structure and its location. We at Bells Power Solutions are very pleased to play a part in the construction of this building.”
For more information on Bells Power Solutions, visit http://bellspowersolutions.co.uk/ and FG Wilson www.fgwilson.com