Marr Contracting awarded heavy lifting contract on Lostock Sustainable Energy Plant

Global heavy lifting tower crane specialists, Marr Contracting, have been awarded the contract to deliver specialised heavy lifting crane services on the Lostock Sustainable Energy Plant (LSEP) near Northwich, Cheshire.

A joint venture between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and FCC Environment, the 60MW energy from waste (EfW) plant will have the capacity to process 600,000 tonnes of waste per year capacity – producing enough power for 125,000 homes.

LSEP has appointed global engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company Black & Veatch as the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contractor to support LSEP in delivering its Energy from Waste facility at the Lostock Works site near Northwich.

Babcock & Wilcox Renewable, a segment of the global Clean Energy technology group within Babcock & Wilcox, has also been appointed to support the delivery of the power train, which is the heart of the energy generation and environmental performance of the plant.

Working in conjunction with Black & Veatch, Marr developed a two-crane solution utilising the world’s largest capacity luffing tower crane, the M2480D.

The solution offers lift capacities of up to 110 tonnes and a reach of up to 73 metres to lift the 70-tonne drum and boiler waterwalls weighing 85 tonnes. The first erected M2480D is founded on the Marr Transit System (MTS) – a rail system that extends the reach and coverage of the tower crane over the site without any loss of capacity. The second M2480D is installed on a static base.

The solution will support Black & Veatch’s preferred MMC / DfMA methodology by allowing larger sections of plant and equipment weighing up to 85 tonnes to be installed in fewer lifts.

“We’re excited to be working in the UK with a client like Black & Veatch who can see the benefits that the right cranage solution can deliver to a project. With the ability to lift in larger, heavier components, our approach will reduce the number of lifts required, helping to deliver a safer, more productive site,” said Marr’s Managing Director, Simon Marr.

“Marr’s experience in the successful delivery of similar large-scale EfW plants in Australia and the Middle East is ideally suited to emerging trends in the UK. Larger plants demand more efficient construction solutions and can really benefit from the use of technology such as the Marr Transit System,” said Steve Ryder, General Manager – International, Marr Contracting.

The LSEP is currently under construction and expected to be operational by 2025.