SPECIALIZED TRANSPORT
T
heNorthEast of Englandhas
recently seen thedevelopment
of a renewable energy facilityby
industrial gas companyAir Products. The
TeesValleyRenewableEnergyFacility
(TeesValley 1 and2) are twoof themost
ground-breaking renewable energy
projects in theworld and are the first of
their kind in theUK.
The facilities use advancedplasma
gasification, which convertswaste into
energy.Once operational, theplant
will take in950 tonnes ofwasteper day
to generate 50MWof electricity. It is
expected topower up to50,000homes
anddivert up to350,000 tonnes of non-
recyclablewaste frombeingdisposed in
landfill each year. Theplant alsohas the
potential to generate a renewable source
of hydrogen for commercial use as, for
example, fuel for public transport. The
non-hazardous inorganic byproduct of
this process can alsobeused in roadbed
construction.
The constructionof the facilitywas
carriedout by contractor FosterWheeler
ConstructionManagement. Canada-based
AlterNRGCorpproduced theplasma
gasifier forTeesValley 1 (TV1).
The jobof transportingmore than100
abnormal loads to siteduring construction
of theplantwas undertakenbyUKheavy
transport companyGCS Johnson.
Thepieces of cargowere shipped to the
UK, sailedup the
RiverTees
, and then
unloadedon theNorthbanknear the
Transporter bridge.
The largest components came in
through theNorthbank andhad tobe
transported alongmore than threemiles
of narrow roads, public roads and a
temporary road that led to theNorthTees
Chemical complex.
In total, it took around sixmonths
toplan the transport route, including
carryingout engineering calculations and
stability checks. Groundwork included
relocatingmainpower, street furniture
and infrastructure toprovide sufficient
clearance at ground level. Anew road
was also laid, which alsohadnew curb
stones and replacement gates to allow the
loads topass.
Cargo thatwas transported included
apair of silos thatweighed30 tonnes and
measured22.9metres long. Theplasma
gasifer had anetweight of 202 tonnes
and stood9.7m tall, toweringover a row
of houses that it passedby at the start of
themove.
Tomove the gasifer, GCS Johnsonused
aTitanheavyhaulage tractor and trailer.
Due to thehigh centre of gravity, they
travelled at quite a sedatepace, delivering
all components to sitewithout incident.
The gasifier and silosweremoved in early
May, while the largeduct sectionswere
moved inAugust 2014.
At the beginningof September a
convoyof abnormal loads, the like of
whichhas not been seen in theUK for
many years, travelleddown the road to site
together. Averageheights for the transport
were 12.5m and eachweighed around
50 tonnes.Once again steadyprogresswas
made from the quayside to construction
site for these oversized loads. All transport
convoyswere accompaniedbypolice
escort.With all the components delivered
to the site on schedule andwithout any
problems the facility is soondue to start
processingwaste.
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INTERNATIONAL ANDSPECIALIZED TRANSPORT
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JANUARY 2015
21
Averageheight for the transportswas 12.5m
andeach loadweighedaround50 tonnes
Tomove the loads, groundwork, including relocatingmainpower supplies, street furnitureand
infrastructure, was carriedout toprovide sufficient clearanceat ground level
