Makeover for electricity pylons

For most people, they are one of the least-loved features of Britain’s countryside. But now electricity pylons, which have barely changed since the 1920s, could be getting a makeover through a rethinking of their design.

It comes as ministers and industry say new pylons and infrastructure will be needed as the UK hooks up the equivalent of 20 new power stations over the next decade, including renewable sources such as wind, to meet electricity demand.

The competition run by the Royal Institute of British Architects for the Department of Energy and Climate Change and National Grid is calling on architects, designers and engineers to come up with new designs for pylons.

National Grid said it would give “serious consideration” to developing the winning design for use in future projects.

There are currently 88,000 electricity pylons in the UK, including 22,000 on National Grid’s main transmission network in England and Wales.

The 50-metre high steel lattice towers in the transmission network carry electricity for thousands of miles around the country.

Their design, chosen by leading architect Sir Reginald Blomfield in 1927, and barely changed since, makes them resistant to high winds and lightning strikes and able to cope with the load and tension of the cables. But the sight of them in the countryside, particularly in more beautiful and remote spots, can spark controversy.

“The equivalent of 20 new power stations is needed by 2020, much more beyond that, and they’ll need connecting to the grid.

“It’s crucial that we seek the most acceptable ways of accommodating infrastructure in our natural and urban landscapes.

“I hope the pylon design competition will ignite creative excitement, but also help the wider public understand the scale of the energy challenge ahead of us.” The Department of Energy said a quarter of the UK’s existing electricity generating capacity, old nuclear reactors and coal-fired power stations, will close by 2020.

By the end of the decade, officials suggest that 30 per cent of electricity supplies will come from renewables such as wind and wave power, as the UK attempts to cut carbon from electricity generation.

National Grid’s executive director UK, Nick Winser, said: “Much of the new low-carbon generation is planned for remote or coastal areas, which means new infrastructure will be needed to get the electricity we need to our homes, businesses and vehicles.”