Northern Powergrid adopts ‘eco-paint’

Northern Powergrid says it has become the first network operator to adopt a sustainable protective paint which will cut the amount of material needed to protect an asset by a third.

Traditionally DNOs have used alkyd paints on transformers and pylons which can emit more than half the liquid-weight as gases, known as volatile organic compounds (VOC), into the atmosphere during the drying process.

Greenovoc paint however is water based and can dry faster and at lower temperatures, allowing assets to come back online more quickly. Northern Powergrid expects the paint to reduce asset downtime by 166 days a year and added that the reduced downtime increases network resilience by minimising the risk of power outages.

A 20-month trial of the paint, which was used on substations and transformers in the North East, was carried out along with Rosh Engineering which supplied the formula. The performance assessment met all the required criteria, such as protection and durability, and delivered increased performance when compared with traditional alkyd paints.

The DNO believes the new paint could save more than 5.5 million tonnes of VOCs from being emitted into the air if rolled out across the UK.

Geoff Earl, director of safety, health and environment at Northern Powergird, said: “We’re committed to delivering cost-savings and driving sustainability across every element of our business. Enabling the switch to renewable energy and decarbonising transport are two significant ways we are going green, but this project demonstrates our commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions in every way possible.

“This paint is a stroke of genius. It is a prime example of out-of-the-box thinking having a real and measurable positive impact on our local environmental footprint.”