For decades, it was common practise to use chlorinated solvents to degrease transformers, thus posing a potential threat to groundwater reservoirs. DONG Energy therefore decided to carry out an environmental remediation of its transformer stations in order to secure clean drinking water for future generations.
High voltage complexity
The remediation project posed challenging due to the physical complexity – both with regard to the preliminary investigations and the actual preventive measures. Working in high voltage areas and among a large number of cables in the soil and air, required a creative design, as well as an alternative execution.
During a remediation project, Geo remediated 100 kg of chlorinated solvents from the soil using thermal energy.
In Geo’s database, we have data from more than 75.000 geotechnical and environmental investigations.
1 litre of Roundup herbicide can contaminate 10 million m3 of groundwater? This is equivalent to the water, which could be contained in a swimming pool the size of a football field and 1,4 km deep.
If 1 litre of the cleaning fluid PCE, formerly used by dry cleaners, winds up in the groundwater, it could contaminate 1 million m3 of groundwater. This is equivalent to 1 family's water consumption for 6.500 years.
Until the late 1980’s, chlorinated solvents were used to degrease transformer stations. Today environmentally neutral chemicals are used, in order to protect the environment and the groundwater resources.
Geo has a long-standing and highly regarded collaboration with DONG Energy, especially when it comes to environmental remediation. Innovation and the ability to apply alternative solutions were essential parts of a successful remediation.
During the course of the project, Geo examined 54 transformer stations – of which 14 required further examinations and subsequent remediation. Due to the complexity of the surroundings, Geo had to apply new innovative remediation methods – without compromising neither the quality of the remediation nor the safety.
DONG Energy’s willingness to test and apply innovative methods was a significant part of the success.
Why Geo?
Senior Project Manager at DONG Energy, Jørgen Bendtsen explains why Geo was the selected partner for the project:
“Geo quickly understood the importance of accomplishing the decontaminations, without our customers experiencing failure in power supply. At the same time, Geo was able to assume full responsibility for the decontamination process in all phases. Finally, yet importantly, Geo offered a competitive price.
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