* Authors: Inés Gallego and Carmelo Angulo *
We recently presented the conclusions of the Ecodis ecodesign project at the Iberdrola Tower. This project is part of the annual programme run by the Basque Ecodesign Centre, in collaboration with the Ihobe, thepublic agency in the Basque Government that is responsible for enhancing the culture of environmental sustainability in the Basque Country, and the Bilbao College of Engineering.
This goal of this project is to study the applicability of the criteria of ecodesign, according to the requirements and methodology defined in the ISO 14006 standard, in the development of electrical substations. It is a highly detailed study that includes a cost-profit assessment for the installation of the various aspects analysed and a theoretical design for infrastructure that is more sustainable for the future.
First of all, We would like to explain exactly what ‘ecodesign’ means. It’s an approach that combines environmental and efficiency criteria in all stages of designing a competitive product in order to ensure that it makes the lowest possible environmental impact throughout its life cycle. To implement this feature, the prototype we selected was the new substation located in Ordizia (Guipúzcoa), where a thorough analysis of the life cycle of the facility is being carried out to calculate its environmental impact.
The first round of work consisted of what is known as the Cradle to Gate Life Cycle Analysis, which covers the tasks of resource extraction, construction and assembly of equipment, and the use and operation analysis. In subsequent phases, the latter stage of the life cycle of the substation, or end-of-life, will be addressed, so as to complete the full life cycle analysis, or cradle-to-grave analysis. When all the work has been completed, there will be comprehensive information on the full environmental footprint of the substation, as well as any possible problems and the associated economic impacts, as well as the main improvements to optimise the lessening of environmental impacts and their associated cost.
Ecodis Project
Ecodis is a cross-disciplinary R&D project carried out by Iberdrola Ingeniería following a proposal from the corporate Innovation, Environment and Quality Division. To be more specific, it was carried out by the Environmental Engineering group (MEDA) and supervised by the Engineering standardisation group, the Iberian Networks department and the Environment Department of Iberdrola Distribución.
This type of research requires public-private collaboration and the cooperation of all of the companies linked to the value chain. Therefore, it is a joint initiative with the participation of public bodies, universities and manufacturers. Some of the collaborating companies include: Ormazabal, Incoesa, ABB, Arteche, ZiV, Ingeteam, Adhorna and Socap.
The first round of work carried out so far reveals environmental improvements proposed by suppliers that do not involve any additional economic cost for implementation.
By taking part in the Ecodis project, Iberdrola continues to work on making our facilities as environmentally friendly as possible. We believe that initiatives like this one enable us to detect opportunities for environmental enhancement without necessarily increasing project costs.
