Following an order placed in March 2013, Siwertell, part of Cargotec, has delivered, installed and commissioned two Siwertell ship unloaders at ABP's port of Immingham, UK, the company said in its press release.
Manufactured and assembled in Italy, the type ST790-D screw type unloaders are equipped with slewable gantry tail conveyors. They will be used to discharge wood pellets and coal to supply the Drax power station. Both types of fuel will be unloaded at a rate of 1,200th.
The customer, ABP, chose the Siwertell unloaders after observing a similar Siwertell unit in operation at Mersey Docks in Liverpool, as well as reviewing a number of machines on the market and paying visits to various facilities across Europe.
This is the first Siwertell unloader delivery to the UK for combined coal/biomass handling. It may well be the first of many similar orders as the government seeks to reduce the level of coal used in UK power plants. "Pressure is building on UK companies to source more of their energy from renewable, low-carbon sources, and we anticipate a much greater demand for biomass used in combination with coal," said Mr Lundgren.
In 2012, Drax announced plans to convert three of its six generating units to burn biomass. The first unit was converted in April 2013 and the second in October 2014.
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