The National Grid is abandoning a new pylon project which has cost a whopping £17 million because they are too noisy.
The so-called T-pylons design was revealed in 2015 as a ‘vision for our electric future’ and was the first major change to the infrastructure used in almost 100 years.
But now, 10 years later, the project which cost £17 million has only seen pylons being installed in one location and they do not feature in the Government’s Net Zero pylon expansions.
At 115 feet high, they were around a third shorter than their traditional counterparts and were supposed to take up less space on the ground.
They formed part of the National Grid’s £900 million Hinkley Connection project.
The winning design – submitted by Danish firm Bystrup – was selected from over 250 entered into an international competition run in 2011, organised by the Royal Institute of British Architects and what was then the Department of Energy and Climate Change (now DEFRA).
At the time, Chris Huhne, then energy secretary, said it was important that the rollout was done in ‘the most beautiful way possible’.
The so-called T-pylons design was revealed in 2015 as a ‘vision for our electric future’ and was the first major change to the infrastructure used in almost 100 years
At 115-feet high, they were around a third shorter than their traditional counterparts and were supposed to take up less space on the ground
After £17 million was pushed into the project, installations began to take place in Somerset along the line connecting up Hinkley Point C nuclear station in 2021.
However, soon after this, residents started complaining about the structures, as they were visually intrusive and could hear a whistling noise in wind high speeds. according to The Telegraph.
Residents described ‘horrid’ and ‘really spooky’ wind noises from the structures.
According to the newspaper, they also require more steel compared to the previous generation, which makes them more expensive.
It also highlighted the tendency for localised flooding around the base, partly because of the size of the foundations.
As previously reported, the Hinkley Connection project would have been ready to connect to Hinkley Point C by the end of 2024, with the project complete at the end of this year.
But they now do not feature in the Government’s Net Zero pylon expansions.
Even though the first lattice-style pylon was built in 1928, the new transmission grid of what was then the Central Electricity Board (CEB) did not begin operating until 1933.
It was initially run as a series of regional grids before becoming truly national in 1938.
The original design was the winning submission to a competition run by the CEB in 1927.
It was sent in by U.S. engineering firm Milliken Brothers. The project’s leading architect Sir Reginald Blomfield, who most famously designed Lambeth Bridge, preferred it instead of the other options.
Blomfield, who was a strident anti-modernist, took its name from Ancient Egypt.
The word pylon describes a gateway with two towers on either side of it. To the Egyptians, these represented two hills – between which the sun rose and set.
Blomfield hoped that his pylons would provide a ‘gateway’ to a reliable electricity supply for the UK.
The National Grid has been approached for comment.