An invitation to tender was issued during April/May 2022 by Jones Bros (Ruthin) Ltd for the construction of the first landfall substation buildings associated with the innovative and prestigious Morlais Project. The Morlais Project was/is a tidal stream energy project that aims to develop and test various technologies for harnessing the power of the sea currents off the west coast of Anglesey, North Wales. The project is run by Menter Môn Ltd, a social enterprise that works for the benefit of the local community. The project has secured £31m of funding from the EU and is likely to become the largest consented project of its kind in the world. The project also involves environmental monitoring and research to ensure that the tidal devices do not harm the marine wildlife in the area, such as dolphins, porpoises, fish, and birds. The project uses a high-technology buoy that collects data using cameras, infrared sensors, and wind speed measurements. The project aims to share its findings and best practices with other tidal energy projects around the world. The Morlais Project is an example of how renewable energy can be generated in a sustainable and innovative way, while also creating opportunities for local development, education, and engagement. Jones Bros (Ruthin) Ltd have been awarded the lion’s share of the £31m project and engage with local SME’s such as OBR Construction to deliver and on this occasion we were awarded the £1.8m project which commenced in July 2022. 

The building was to be the landfall substation, providing onshore facilities for developers and a common connection to the grid via the onshore cable route and altogether our package was to deliver three buildings referred to as Buildings A, B and C as well as a transformer compound. The building(s) were of steel portal frame construction, blockwork, brickwork and cladding and the transformer bays involved the construction of 4nr of transformer bays. This included, but wasn’t limited to, all ducting and pipe work external of the building; Foundations including blinding, damp proofing, reinforced concrete slab; excavation and construction of sockets for the blast walls. Within the internal space of the buildings, the slab included, pits and upstands, particularly within the transformer compound to accommodate pumps and other equipment.

Due to the nature of this project, OBR were involved in delivering a wide range of complex construction and civils activities including excavations, imported fill compaction, temporary works, formwork erection, fixing reinforcements and concrete works, planned lifts, foundations, steel frame erection, cladding and insulation installation and roof mounted PV panel systems as well as internal finishings and fittings. The only elements which were outsourced was the specialist external cladding and solar PV panels installation. All other works were delivered by our directly employed trades.

The project was delivered on time and on budget due to close monitoring of progress on both Client and OBR Construction’s sides, fortnightly progress meetings, collaborative working and monthly Risk Reduction Meetings where potential issues were flagged up and mitigated. Having the ability to deliver using our own site management and tradesmen resulted in increased control which in our opinion undoubtedly contributed to our efficient delivery. As this was the flagship first phase of this innovative project, it was crucial that it was successfully delivered and we are proud to report that it was so and paves the way for future phases and for renewable wave energy to be produced and harnessed off the West coast of Anglesey.