Robert Bird Group (RBG), a member of Surbana Jurong Group, had won the NCE 100 Companies of the Year award in the category of Excellence in Alternative Energy for its contribution on MeyGen Tidal Turbine project. RBG designed the Turbine Support Structures for the first stage of the planned 398MW MeyGen tidal turbine farm, the first project of its kind in the world.
The award category celebrates those companies that are doing the most to introduce better energy sources in their projects.
New Civil Engineer (NCE), a monthly UK magazine and organiser of the NCE 100 awards, cited how RBG’s entry on MeyGen Tidal Turbine project “provided a good case study in first principles design, including an explanation of how the project is pushing the boundaries of high turbulent current modelling and structural simulation. Learning from the scheme is being shared with the wider industry: learning from the project is being fed into a new design code which will apply as a new industry standard”.
RBG was also a finalist for NCE’s Construction Innovator Award.
SMEC, member of the Surbana Jurong Group, has been engaged by the Millennium Challenge Coordinating Unit, which is part of a US foreign aid agency to undertake an Assessment and Business Planning Activity for the Electricity Generation and Transmission Company (EGTC) in Sierra Leone, West Africa.
The West Africa team will conduct an assessment of EGTC’s ability to meet current and future responsibilities in the reformed power sector and develop a business plan and utility transformation programme to support EGTC development.
The overall objective is to strengthen corporate governance at EGTC and EDSA (Electricity Supply and Distribution Authority) and to bolster EGTC’s operations.
The project scope of work includes:
Defining and implementing a training programme to improve the Boards of Directors’ understanding of the operational environment, to strengthen the skills of the Directors to make informed investment and policy decisions, and to establish sound corporate governance practices
Evaluating the institutional structure, professional requirements and training needs for EGTC as an independent service provider
Drafting a business plan that presents EGTC corporate objectives and strategy to achieve the desired performance and financial results
Evaluating business systems, information technology platforms, professional development and equipment needs to serve the strategic objectives defined in the business plan
Project works, which will take five months, are scheduled to commence in April 2017.