Zeebrugge medium-voltage substation: multidisciplinary collaboration with Elia

Energy operator Elia has entered into a multiyear collaboration with Witteveen+Bos for civil works and the design of high-voltage substations. The strength of such a long-term collaboration is that we can become completely familiar with the client's design philosophy, supplementing it with our own expertise and quality system. A perfect example of this is the design of a new medium-voltage substation in Zeebrugge.

Since summer 2021 we have been working with this Belgian client on a new medium-voltage substation. On this particular project the civil works team and our high-voltage engineers are working together on a single design, incorporating both disciplines. Witteveen+Bos is not only responsible for the implementation design, we also took care of the permit request.

Witteveen+Bos has its own permit experts who have been involved in the project from the start. No external input was required, therefore, in the permit processes for the civil and high-voltage designs. These same experts also have experience with the CAD drawing software used at Elia, which allowed the design process to also take place in co-creation.

This method of working significantly reduced the lead time of the implementation design. Time was also saved by specifying the client’s requirements as clearly as possible, which resulted in savings on study costs, too.

The long-term nature of the collaboration enabled us to effectively adapt to the small and larger scope adjustments for the realisation of the Zeebrugge medium-voltage substation. This meant we could advise Elia without any delay. The new and amended information was also correctly incorporated into the permit application without compromising its integrity.