Aggreko completes sustainable expansion of Dumbarton site

Global temporary power company Aggreko has successfully completed a £4.5mn low-carbon expansion of its production facility in Dumbarton, Scotland.

The expansion has seen the company acquire land within the neighbouring Lomondgate Park, with the intention of creating a future energy hub as part of Aggreko’s net zero strategy.

Beginning in November 2020 and taking place over an 18-month period, the build was completed with a focus on sustainable construction in line with the company’s Greener Upgrades initiative, with old building materials re-used or recycled wherever possible.

Chris Rason, Managing Director at Aggreko said: “When undertaking this project, we felt it was paramount to our values as a company to practice what we preach regarding greener construction.

“The creation of a future energy hub would allow us to significantly reduce the environmental impact of our day-to-day operations. However, it was critical that this was not undermined by the build itself. For this reason, we decided to complete this project in a way that could be of benefit to the local area and businesses rather than a detriment.”

No excavated material was sent to landfill during the development, with existing topsoil from the site repurposed for soft landscaping, while concrete kerbing and haunching from the car park was crushed for re-use as capping. Approximately five skip loads of scrap metal and three skip loads of plastic were also sent to be recycled.

Aggreko formerly had three operation sites in Dumbarton, which have now been consolidated into a singular campus at Lomondgate, featuring 7kW EV charging stations and a revamped office environment.

The centrepiece of the development is a new rental depot, resulting in a 46% increase in product storage area for the site. The company has now phased out use of diesel in the facility, with low-emission hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) introduced in its place alongside smart battery storage systems.

The depot is designed around the ‘continuous flow’ operational model, where products travel along a set path when returning from a contract to be prepared for re-distribution. This process spans all activities, including fuelling, servicing, repairs and load testing.

“The expansion of our Dumbarton facility is a landmark moment in the history of the company," added Rason.

"The construction of a green rental depot is a huge step towards our goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions from our own operations by 2030, so we couldn’t be more pleased with the results.

“Going forwards, we aim to integrate changes such as these across our entire range of operations, in order to decrease our environmental impact as a company while also enhancing the value that we can bring to local communities.”

To read more on how Aggreko is advancing green power solutions, click here.