A Renewable Energy Initiative

Committed to economic development in the northeast region, the government of India initiated the NER-II Transmission Limited Project to help deliver reliable, renewable power to some of the country’s most remote areas. The INR 1.95 billion renewable energy initiative includes developing transmission lines that span 448 kilometers. Additionally, it included designing and constructing a 400-kilovolt/132-kilovolt substation in the state of Tripura near the foothills of the Himalayas. Upon completion, it will serve a population of over 30 million residents and improve reliability of the power supply, reduce intermittency, and accelerate sustainability of renewables in the northeast region. Sterlite Power was awarded the contract and faced challenging environmental and geographic conditions, compounded by a tight timeline and an indigenous population resistant to change.

Committing to Collaborative Digital Workflows

Given the project complexities due to the mountainous terrain and local populace, Sterlite Power needed a modeling solution that would enable right-first-time design and accurate information sharing among stakeholders to ensure timely delivery. They desired a collaborative digital solution to streamline workflows and facilitate informed, prompt decision-making, which included 3D digital processes and a connected data environment to effectively coordinate design and construction, gain approval from state authorities, and meet the tight timeline. Their 2D conventional methodologies were limited in terms of design optimization, resource planning, construction scheduling, and communication. These inefficiencies posed enormous risks in the substation timeline, prolonging inspection, stakeholder buy-in, and handovers.

Bentley Provides 3D and 4D BIM Solution

To overcome the inefficiencies of traditional design, Sterlite Power switched to OpenUtilities Substation and ProjectWise, establishing a 3D collaborative digital twin environment to streamline design workflows and enable early clash detection and clearance among structures and equipment. Using Bentley technology, they developed digital component libraries that provided traceability and accountability for design and a foundation for creating the 3D substation layout. Adopting 4D digital twin technology using SYNCHRO, Sterlite Power conducted real-time, virtual construction monitoring. The digital model helped visualize the impact of design changes, avoiding on-site construction errors. To further optimize substation layout and improve design efficiencies, they generated a detailed reality model from drone-captured images.

Digitalization Drives Savings and Sustainability

Using Bentley technology to digitalize workflows and establish a connected data environment optimized collaboration among all stakeholders, minimized information loss, and accelerated data-driven decisions, saving crucial resource hours and INR 1.1 million in costs. The ability to perform clash detection to identify and resolve issues early in the design process reduced rework, saving nearly INR 2.3 million and over a month on the project schedule. Through real-time virtual construction simulation and modeling, Sterlite Power achieved an estimated 15% return on investment. They plan to extend BIM to asset management, utilizing the models for more efficient substation operations and maintenance. The project will provide a sustainable solution that is aligned with India’s renewable energy targets.

Project Playbook: OpenUtilities Substation, ProjectWise, SYNCHRO 4D