Member Article

ABP appoints Graham Construction for Immingham renewables contract

Graham Construction has been appointed to undertake the design and construction of a major new facility for importing, storing, and onward transfer of renewable fuels (wood pellets) at Associated British Ports’ (ABP) Port of Immingham.

The port is already the UK’s largest handler of dry bulk cargo, and the development of the Immingham Renewable Fuels Terminal (IRFT) will put Immingham at the forefront of the developing supply chain in renewable power generation from biomass.

Once completed, the 11.5-acre facility will be a fully automated bulk-handling terminal that will handle biomass for the region’s power generating industry.

The terminal will have the capability of handling around three million tonnes each year, and be able to store up to 100,000 tonnes of wood pellets.

Four storage silos will have a total capacity of 168,000m3; equivalent to over 60 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The IRFT facility will support the planned transformation of three of Drax’s six coal-fired generating units at the Selby power station to biomass-fuelled units, in line with the UK government’s climate change targets.

The Graham team includes Ramboll, which brings extensive experience of designing biomass handling facilities in mainland Europe, local consultant HBPW Consulting, materials handling contractors Whitwick Engineering and Yorkshire electrical firm Lectec Services.

John Fitzgerald, ABP port director Grimsby and Immingham, said: “We are really pleased to be working with the team at Graham, with whom we have established an excellent relationship through the development of our Grimsby River Terminal for the automotive trade.

“Immingham has always been an energy port ever since it opened just over 100 years ago, so it is fitting that the UK’s largest, most technically-advanced biomass handling terminal will be built here.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Mark Lane .