Vattenfall Wedel coal-fired power plant: Container installation under difficult conditions

We were able to win Vattenfall as a customer back in 2011, and since then AMTRA has regularly supplied large numbers of room containers to the operator Vattenfall for the annual overhaul. In addition to the high requirements for container suppliers on power plant sites, the project also presents some special challenges.

This year, the overhaul at the Wedel power plant will begin in spring, and in March 2017 AMTRA will build a two-storey facility for this purpose, the size of which will push us to the limits of what is feasible in terms of the available installation space.

For logistical reasons, the extensive container system has to be set up under one of the conveyor belts that transport the coal from a large stockpile to the furnaces. When setting up the second floor in particular, crane operators and fitters often only have a few centimetres of space to set the containers down in the right place.

Nevertheless, fast and precise work is required here, as the trucks are scheduled to deliver the containers on a tight schedule.

Error-free truck scheduling is an important factor

Due to the ongoing operation of the power plant, our employees have to set up the plant as quickly and smoothly as possible. Perfect truck scheduling is of crucial importance here, especially as there was hardly any room for major shunting measures on the site in Wedel.

Both excessively long waiting times and too many trucks at once could therefore have led to disruptions in power plant operations. A risk that our site manager was able to rule out on site thanks to his excellent overview.

Smooth process thanks to perfect coordination

Once again this year, AMTRA’s fitters completed the installation in the shortest possible time. This once again demonstrates AMTRA’s expertise from countless projects, the many years of experience of our fitters and the far-sighted planning of our site manager, who was of course on site the whole time.

Our fitters are experienced professionals, many of whom have been working for AMTRA for many years. They work together perfectly to ensure that the current project is set up quickly and commissioned on time.

Second construction phase in May

In May, a second changing room system for the inspection will follow on a different footprint. In another two-storey facility, assembly is carried out in a single row. The containers are connected to each other via an internal corridor.

Cooperation on other projects too

Thanks to the excellent cooperation, Vattenfall also entrusted us with the provision of containers for other projects. In 2012, AMTRA became a framework agreement partner for the Group’s waste incineration plants. Our experts have been working with the Vattenfall project team since 2014. One of the first projects of this cooperation was the provision of room modules for the construction of an inner-city block-type power plant in Hamburg.

In 2017, the Moorburg coal-fired power plant was the last Vattenfall power plant to join the cooperation with AMTRA in Hamburg.

The Hamburg Wedel coal-fired power plant

The power plant on the Elbe has been supplying Hamburg with energy since 1965. Thanks to regular expansions and modernizations, such as the conversion of two units to cogeneration. Today, the power plant supplies around 240,000 households with electricity.