Parsons Brinckerhoff appointed to undertake national transmission study

Europe | 12 September 2011

The report will assess the whole life financial costs of various types of transmission technology, and will identify typical environmental impacts associated with each.
The report will provide an authoritative, independent point of reference to help the Infrastructure Planning Commission evaluate planning applications for new high voltage transmission connections and reinforcements in England and Wales.

A project board to oversee the work will include the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), which will provide a quality assurance function; National Grid, which is funding the report; and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). The project board will monitor and scrutinise progress of the report although National Grid and DECC will have no influence upon its conclusions.
Commenting on the appointment, David Rutherford, Senior Director of Energy at Parsons Brinckerhoff, said: “This is a highly complex and challenging commission, the results of which will be of importance to a wide range of stakeholders and interested parties.

“We have a relatively short timescale to obtain and analyse data from multiple sources - operators, suppliers and other industry organisations in this country and internationally - and assess a range of technologies, from the relatively new to the tried and tested. One of our main challenges will be to present the complex data behind the findings in an easy to understand format that helps inform decision makers yet remains relevant going forward as technologies and markets change.”

Parsons Brinckerhoff will be undertaking the study in association with Cable Consulting International.