Allelys completes first of three deliveries to UK station

Allelys have completed the delivery of a 327.5 tonne generator to Progress Power Station in Eye, England.

The journey to site required extensive planning and surveys were undertaken to find the best route. (Photo: Allelys)

This generator delivery is part of a larger scope of work, which includes the transport of two further units, a 333 tonne turbine and 227 tonne transformer.

Allelys will also install all three loads to their foundation, which will take place over the next few weeks.

The generator, which measured 10.7 metres long, 3.5 metres wide and 3.75 metres high was received at the Port of Ipswich and offloaded from the vessel via a 1,200 tonne mobile crane. The heavy lift crane loaded the transformer onto a 28 axle girder frame trailer ready for transport, whilst the generator and transformer were stooled off at the port in temporary storage.

The route to site required extensive planning and engineering works, with route surveys, swept path analysis and 3rd party structural analysis completed to identify a suitable route.

To overcome one particular structure along the route, Allelys designed an 8 metre long overbridging solution to spread the weight of the load and enable the transport arrangement to cross successfully.

The whole route was travelled under police escort, with traffic management and rolling road blocks in place.

“This project has been a true team effort, with Allelys’ commercial, engineering, project management, routing and operational teams all working to deliver a successful outcome for our client,” said Geoff Andrews, project manager at Allelys.

“With the units involved being described as the biggest abnormal loads to ever be transported within Suffolk, there has been a lot of attention associated with the project. It was great to see everyone working together on the day and all of the planning paying off.”

With the generator delivered successfully to site, Allelys will now complete the installation of the unit using a gantry and skidding system. The hydraulic gantry will lift the turbine from the transport equipment and skid it 36.5 metres into its final position.

The generator was transported to the Open Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT) power peaking plant. (Photo: Allelys)

The team will then repeat the transport and installation stages for both the generator and transformer in the coming weeks.

Back up power

The entire transport was completed under police escort. (Photo: Allelys)

The delivery is one of the key components for the power station, which when operational, will have the capacity to generate enough electricity to power 150,000 households and will be used during periods of peak electricity demand, providing back-up to other sources of electricity.

The station is an Open Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT) power peaking plant, owned by Progress Power Limited (PPL), a subsidiary business of Drax Group.

Greek multinational industrial and energy company Mytileos Energy & Metals has undertaken the development of the project.