Client – Ocado
Location: Andover
BACKGROUND
In February 2019, the Ocado CFC in Andover caught fire and was virtually destroyed. Two years after the fire, Ocado is pleased to confirm that the rebuild of the replacement customer fulfilment centre (“CFC”) continues to proceed at pace and is scheduled to open on time in Autumn 2021. The new facility will employ around 1,700 people for a variety of different roles. The site will be 217,000 square foot enabling it to cater for up to 59,000 deliveries per week. With the existing generator being re-located to another site during the rebuild, a new larger generator was required to back up the site.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Shenton Group were approached by the Mechanical & Electrical Contractor working on the rebuild to assist with the generator design, supply, installation, and commissioning. Having worked on many distribution centre projects over the years, our team quickly established the power requirements and designed a solution in line with the client’s specification. The solution we provided was a 2200kVA standby rated generator in a bespoke 85dB(A) @1 Metre container utilising a Perkins engine. The container was fitted with an external cable connection box to enable ease of connection of the power and control cables and also housed a 3000-litre day fuel tank. This day tank was fed from an existing bulk fuel tank via a fuel transfer system which ran underground in a pre-formed trench. The system also included a fuel’ dump line’, which was activated by a drop weight fire valve and was fully pressure tested on completion of installation. As a precaution, the existing fuel tank underwent a detailed inspection, the fuel was polished, and the duplex pump set was replaced.
Another requirement of the project was for the generator to be able to synchronise with the mains to allow for a ‘no-break’ mains return. Shenton Group undertook the G99 compliance testing and as well as the G99 witness testing that was overseen by the DNO. The generator was delivered and positioned on a purpose built roof area and fully commissioned along with the switchgear to ensure the system was performing as design.
OUTCOME
The new state of the art CFC is now fully back-up by the generator installation and will be covered in the event of a power outage. The generator is now under a detailed maintenance contract that covers routine servicing and reactive call-outs, giving our client peace of mind that help is always on hand.