14 September 2026
The UK's energy transition is no longer mainly a story about generation technologies. It is a story about infrastructure: the grid connections, substations, storage facilities and reinforced networks needed to move a decentralised, renewables-led electricity system from planning consent to energised operation. Government policy, through the Clean Power 2030 plan, identifies electricity networks and flexibility as critical enablers of decarbonisation, and that is where investment is concentrating.
Alan Wood & Partners provides civil, structural, geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering and building consultancy across the power and energy sector. This article explains where the market is heading, what engineering input matters at each stage, and how our delivered projects, from 132kV grid connection substations to some of the UK's largest battery energy storage schemes, illustrate the role multi-disciplinary engineering plays in the energy transition.
The centre of gravity in UK energy investment has moved from individual generation technologies to the infrastructure that connects and balances them. The areas attracting the most activity include:
Grid resilience and network reinforcement
Transmission and distribution infrastructure
Grid connections and substations
Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and flexibility
Solar farms and renewable generation infrastructure
Renewable integration
Industrial electrification
Data centre power infrastructure
Interconnectors and associated infrastructure
Building decarbonisation and net-zero retrofit programmes
Grid connection reform is a particular pressure point. With Ofgem and NESO reforming the connections queue to prioritise projects that are ready and needed, developers and connection providers face compressed programmes where early engineering certainty, on ground conditions, flood risk, levels and access, decides whether a scheme holds its connection date.
Whatever the technology, the same engineering questions recur: can the ground support the equipment, can the site manage water, can heavy plant get in, and will the platform still be operating reliably in thirty years? Our dedicated Renewable and Low Carbon Infrastructure service page sets out how we approach these questions across a project's lifecycle.
Substations are where the energy transition physically connects to the network, and they are demanding civil and structural projects in their own right. Alan Wood & Partners has delivered the civil and structural design for a series of 132kV grid connection substations, some key examples are shown below:
**132kV grid connection, Grimsby.** A new 132kV substation for connection to Northern Powergrid's network, which has recently been energised. Our team delivered flood risk assessment and drainage design to Northern Powergrid's flood resilience requirements, earthworks and platform design, foundations for AIS switchyard structures, transformer bunds and customer switchrooms, full substructure and superstructure design of the control room, crane pad assessment and access road design.
**132kV UKPN substation, Diss.** A new grid connection substation near Palgrave, designed to UK Power Networks' technical standards. Scope included topographical survey, phase 2 ground investigation, flood risk assessment and drainage design, cut-and-fill earthworks modelling in Civil 3D to minimise material movement, engineered foundations for the control room, switchyard structures and transformer bund, and reinforcement detailing.
**132/33kV primary substation, Llanwern.** An adoptable primary substation at Llanwern Farm Solar Park, Newport, the point of connection for a 49.9MW solar farm with battery storage. Poor ground conditions demanded pile-supported monolithic reinforced concrete raft foundations and chemically stabilised access roads to control settlement, with critical plant lifted above predicted flood levels on elevated platforms.
The pattern across all three: strict network operator specifications, constrained sites, flood risk to engineer around, and heavy equipment loads that make ground engineering the difference between a compliant platform and a programme risk. *(For more on this topic, see our companion article on Grid Connections and Substations.)*
Storage is where flexibility gets built, and it is the sub-sector where Alan Wood & Partners has the deepest recent portfolio, spanning the full project lifecycle:
**360MW 2-hour BESS and 400kV substation, Staythorpe, Nottinghamshire.** Civil engineering design for one of the UK's larger storage schemes, including flood compensation storage modelling to offset floodplain impacts, surface water drainage design and optimised earthworks platforms.
400MW 2-hour BESS and substation, Hunterston, Ayrshire. Civil, structural and geotechnical engineering including phase 2 ground investigation, slope stability assessment, foundations for batteries, MV skids and transformer bunds, a 1km access road with culverts and cable protection, and a transmission platform raised 500mm above the 1-in-200-year flood level with a 50 per cent climate change allowance.
**Burwell BESS and 132kV grid connection, Cambridgeshire.** Full civil and structural engineering for a 56.2MWh lithium-ion facility on a site bounded on three sides by a watercourse, including a new 10m access bridge designed to carry construction plant and transformer delivery vehicles, and structural steel grillages to hold critical equipment above predicted flood levels. Phase 2 added around 30MW on an adjacent site, with flood risk and planning support, drainage strategy and fire water storage design.
Hallen BESS, Avonmouth. Foundation design for double-stacked containerised battery systems on poor ground: a monolithic reinforced concrete raft over a geo-grid stabilised load-transfer platform, plus site-wide civils including an attenuation lagoon with controlled discharge.
**Front-end engineering design (FEED) for a 400MW 4-hour BESS and substation** on a confidential site, where extensive peat deposits required a peat management plan, floating road design for access over peat, settlement analysis and comparative foundation appraisals.
Two things carry across every storage project. First, batteries may be a standard product, but the risk sits in the ground, in settlement, flood and access. Second, the earlier the engineering starts, the more options remain open: a FEED study that optimises cut-and-fill and derisks foundations shapes the whole scheme's cost and programme.
Solar presents a significant opportunity well before detailed design. In the early stages of project development, developers increasingly need planning support, site feasibility assessments, flood risk and drainage strategies, ground investigations and geotechnical design; exactly the inputs that determine whether a site is viable and what it will cost to build.
Engaging engineering support at this stage, rather than once a scheme reaches detailed design, means ground risk is priced before land deals and equipment orders are locked in.
Solar also reaches beyond field-scale arrays. At Stourton park and ride in Leeds, described by Leeds City Council as the UK's first solar-powered, zero-emission park and ride, Alan Wood & Partners carried out superstructure design for the bus terminal, combining offsite volumetric modular construction with traditional build.
Network reinforcement is not only new build. A growing share of energy sector work is about protecting and extending the life of assets already in the ground:
Landslip investigation and remedial design, Stalybridge. Investigation and remedial works design for a landslip adjacent to a National Grid overhead tower: ground investigation, limit equilibrium slope stability analysis, crest, slope and toe drainage design, and technical assessment of the specialist soil nailing design, protecting critical transmission infrastructure.
Transformer bund assessment, Canterbury. Specialist assessment of an existing bund for a transformer replacement, checking 110 per cent oil containment against Environment Agency guidance and structurally assessing the bund for increased loads, with remedial strengthening design.
Structural and asset condition surveys. End-to-end condition surveys across live industrial and energy environments, including substations, BESS facilities, pipe bridges and process structures, combining chartered structural assessment expertise with laser scanning, NDT and risk-based condition grading for clients at sites such as Saltend Chemicals Park and Lindsey Oil Refinery.
Trenchless design. Horizontal directional drilling and auger-bore design for pipelines and utilities beneath rivers, highways and rail, including HDD beneath the River Derwent and the A614, with frac-out assessment and stakeholder approvals.
Stakeholder negotiation for asset interfaces. Acting as Contractor's Responsible Engineer and Contractor's Engineering Manager on works adjacent to Network Rail property, and managing Section 278 agreements, asset protection plans and wayleaves, the approvals that decide whether interface-heavy energy projects run to programme.
For emerging demand, from industrial electrification to data centre power infrastructure and interconnector landfalls, the engineering questions are the ones this portfolio already answers: heavy equipment on engineered platforms, flood resilience, complex ground, and interfaces with networks that cannot be disrupted.
Decarbonising existing buildings is becoming a substantial market in its own right, driven by public sector net-zero commitments, estate rationalisation programmes and the need to improve existing assets. Through combined structural, civil, geotechnical and building consultancy capabilities, Alan Wood & Partners supports clients with surveys, asset and condition assessments, refurbishment and retrofit strategies, and structural interventions, and, where rationalisation means removal, with safe demolition: our team acted as project manager, structural engineer and principal designer for the demolition of six high-rise residential blocks for a Lincolnshire housing provider, with the majority of materials recycled.
For asset owners, this is a route to decarbonise what they already hold, not only what they build next. See also our progress on our own journey to net zero.
The projects above share a common thread: none of them is a single-discipline problem. What clients buy is the ability to bring civil, structural, geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering and building consultancy together under one practice, so ground investigation informs foundation design, flood strategy informs platform levels, and structural detailing reflects how the equipment actually arrives on site.
In practice that means:
Early-stage de-risking. Feasibility, FEED studies, ground investigation, earthworks assessments and flood strategy before capital is committed
Delivery to network operator standards. Designs meeting the requirements of the network operators our clients connect to, including Northern Powergrid, UK Power Networks and transmission operators
Responsiveness. Regional depth, with seven offices and over 100 technical staff across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, for site presence and quick answers when programmes are tight
Practical, cost-effective engineering. Optimised earthworks, buildable foundations and drainage that satisfies both the regulator and the programme
What do civil and structural engineers do on power and energy infrastructure projects?
They deliver the built platform the electrical systems depend on: earthworks and levels, flood risk and drainage, foundations for batteries, transformers and switchgear, bunds, control rooms, access roads and bridges, plus assessment and strengthening of existing assets.
When should a developer involve an engineering consultancy in a grid connection or storage project?
As early as possible. Ground conditions, flood risk and access shape site selection, planning and cost. A FEED study or early ground investigation resolves the risks that otherwise surface during construction, when they are most expensive.
How do I choose an engineering partner for energy infrastructure?
Look for delivered projects in your sub-sector with named roles, the ability to coordinate geotechnical, civil and structural input under one practice, experience of your network operator's standards and your contract model, and the regional capacity to be on site when it matters.
Alan Wood & Partners is an engineering consultancy with experience in and supporting the delivery of major power and energy infrastructure: practical, cost-effective and innovative engineering from site feasibility through to construction support. If you are developing a grid connection, storage, solar or wider energy scheme and want ground, flood, access or structural risk sense-checked early, contact our team to discuss your project.