Member Article

Wind farm generates awards success for Jones Bros

A renewables development led by a Jones Bros Balfour Beatty joint venture has scooped a major UK industry award.

The Pen Y Cymoedd Wind Farm Energy Project has been named civil engineering project of the year at the Constructing Excellence (CE) national awards, which recognise leading organisations, contracts, and individuals in the sector.

The prestigious accolade follows the wind farm’s home-grown success, as it came out top in the same category at the Constructing Excellence in Wales (CEW) awards in July.

Ruthin-based Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK and Balfour Beatty delivered balance of plant and infrastructure services at the renewables site, which is the largest onshore wind farm in England and Wales.

The project adopted a local employment policy, which resulted in 65 per cent of its workforce being employed from a 35-mile radius of the site.

200 people worked at the 76-turbine wind farm at the peak of construction, with the local economy benefitting through pay packets being reinvested into the area.

The joint venture also established a ‘Wave Hello: Wave Goodbye’ scheme to protect pedestrians and cyclists from heavy plant vehicles as they passed through the 4,600 hectare land. The programme instructed site visitors to make visible contact with plant operatives, to ensure they were aware of their presence.

Zero waste was sent to landfill, as the project extracted and processed 700,000 tonnes of rock on the site, reducing demand for haulage vehicle journeys to and from the South Wales valley.

Eryl Roberts, joint venture project manager, said: “We’re pleased that Pen Y Cymoedd has been recognised by the industry as the best civil engineering project in the UK.

“Our approach ensured that the contract gave back to the economy, with 92 per cent of all labour sourced within Wales. We also worked with schools to organise 400 site visits during construction.

“One of the most pleasing aspects was health and safety, as the standard was so high it was rated Vattenfall’s number one site worldwide.”

Pen Y Cymoedd is owned and operated by Vattenfall and generates enough electricity to power 188,000 homes.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sam Harris .