Customer

Yurika’s client was a multi-national company in the renewable energy market, specialising in the construction of photovoltaic plants (solar farms) and their connection to the grid internationally. They were looking to team up with an experienced delivery partner to support their renewable energy expansion in Australia.

Objective

The challenge was to design and construct HV infrastructure to support an 80MW solar farm 66kV grid connection to the TransGrid network in NSW in 14 weeks to meet client’s commitments to the project owner. As a comparison, a typical solar farm substation project takes approximately 12 months to construct – from design through to commissioning – highlighting the magnitude of the challenge.

Solution

The key to meeting this very tight timeframe was to reduce the floating or downtime. Utilising Yurika’s standard designs, modular manufacturing capacity and established supplier network, team were able to take possession of the site and commence civil works 4 days from execution of the agreement.

To meet client’s critical delivery timeframe, Yurika needed to look at innovative ways of working. Dedicated project management team with direct control over all aspects of delivery, from concept designs and specifications right through to commissioning and compliance – proactively managed risks whilst performing key activities concurrently, greatly reducing critical path on the project without compromising safety, quality or cost to the client. Yurika also implemented overlapping 10/4 rosters that enabled work teams of various disciplines to be onsite 7-days a week.

With the ability to readily construct and test modular switch-rooms through to Yurika’s in-house manufacturing facility, team effectively managed the multiple work streams and mitigated environmental risks associated with construction site works. In addition to the internal personnel, Yurika engaged local businesses and service providers. These combined resources proved to be invaluable due to their local knowledge and community connections.

Outcomes

Yurika met all of the client’s delivery targets and successfully completed the project within the 14-week timeframe. The project was done to budget as specified and met all mandated standards and regulatory requirements. Most importantly, there was no injuries or safety incidents during the entire phase of the project.