The bar for designing electricity substations to be sustainable and stylish just got raised. In a first for the industry, Unison Networks’ recently commissioned Windsor Substation, designed by Charissa Snijders Architect has been has been awarded the ‘Low Carbon Future Award’ in the New Zealand Energy Excellence Awards. The NZ Energy Excellence prestigious awards recognise excellence and achievement across the energy sector, seeking best practice in Aotearoa.

Unison had a vision of being sustainability leaders in their field through building a substation as a catalyst for industry change. This award and recognition is a clear indicator that Unison's vision has been realised.

The Windsor Substation has been designed, built and is operated in line with the Living Building Challenge (LBC) – the most stringent environmental building design certification in the world.

So how does the substation’s design, build and operational costs respond to the LBC standards?

• A Life Cycle Assessment shows that in comparison to a similar typical substation it achieves a 363% reduction in carbon.

• The substation is modular and relocatable.

• On top of being Zero carbon, it is net-positive water. It captures and recycles its water and supplies Windsor Substation with all its water needs.

• It is constructed using locally sourced and environmentally friendly materials as a priority, including utilising 40 salvaged Unison power poles from circa the 1950s. In design and building, waste to landfill was carefully minimised through reuse and repurposing.

• It is net positive energy. Solar energy powers 100% of Windsor Substation’s needs and energy produced above and beyond its requirements is sent back to the grid for community use.

• As part of regenerating the local environment, native habitat has been established around the substation, with biodiversity restored and supported through landscaping.

from CSA on Instagram 8 July 2022