Andorra La Vella, Andorra – Case Study 1
The sounds of birdsong and snapping branches are usually not audible amid the hum and buzz of an electric substation. But La Gonarda ETR is no ordinary facility, it has been cleverly designed to minimise noise pollution and blend into the natural environment.
Energy with a view
La Gonarda transformer and distribution station (ETR) is in the mountainside above Andorra la Vella, the capital of the principality of Andorra. It is concealed through thoughtful design to preserve the awesome views.
Planning for the future
La Gonarda benefits the entire principality, anticipating energy demands while easing the burden on other ETRs. Its potential output is equal to 28 per cent of Andorra’s peak consumption.
La Gonarda ETR
In the past an electrical substation might have interrupted the impeccable views of Europe’s most scenic, well‑to-do enclaves or disturbed the peace with a hum and buzz.
But Feda, Andorra’s state-owned electricity company, commissioned local firm Altura Arquitectes to work on a sympathetic design to minimise noise pollution and visual distraction. “We decided to create a building that would shelter in the mountainside, with a green roof and a wooden façade,” says Altura Arquitectes founding partner Gerard Veciana. Natural materials were employed to further disguise the facility. It isn’t invisible, but a passing taxi driver did wonder if it was a new spa hotel. La Gonarda transformer and distribution station (ETR) transforms electricity into medium voltage for distribution to the nearby parishes of La Massana and Ordino. It will also make it easier to connect homes and industrial sites to new renewable energy sources in future. La Gonarda’s two power transformers were chosen from Hitachi Energy’s EconiQ portfolio of sustainable energy products and customised to reduce noise to almost zero. Stand two metres away and birdsong easily drowns out the substation operating at full tilt, meaning no one is any the wiser about the groundbreaking project inside.
