Galvanized steel in a new Norfolk based biomass plant

Steel fabricated by Caunton Engineering and hot dip galvanized by Joseph Ash Galvanizing used in new Norfolk biomass plant.

In 2017 a new energy plant will open in Norfolk, with an electrical capacity of 44.2MW and the ability to supply 82,000 homes with energy.

For environmentalists and engineers alike, it is an interesting project as the energy will be generated from burning organic matter. Local farmers are interested too as they will be supplying (and making an income from) the 250,000 tonnes of straw and woodchip that will be used to generate the energy.

The project is being funded by two Scandinavian organisations – Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor (BWSC) and PensionDanmark. The architect and structural engineers are Ramboll, and the steelwork contractor is Caunton Engineering Ltd. Joseph Ash Galvanizing also has an interest in the project as we were entrusted by Caunton Engineering to hot dip galvanize the steel which they fabricated.

This steel, which was fabricated by Caunton Engineering, included:

• Stairs
• Platforms
• Two barns for straw
• The roof of the woodchip barn
• Crane beams
• Boiler house
• Turbine hall.

It has been a huge project involving about 1500 tonnes of steel. In fact, the steel beams for the turbine hall alone were 33m long and 8 tonnes in weight each.

Gary Hatton of Caunton Engineering said that they chose Joseph Ash Galvanizing because of their ability to turnaround the high tonnages of a complex galvanized frame to programme in accordance with the required Quality Assurance.

Steven Hopkins, Managing Director at Joseph Ash Galvanizing said:

“This is exactly the sort of project that we like to be involved in, offering an opportunity for careful planning well in advance to ensure that the steel components are designed and fabricated to take into account the galvanizing process.  This promotes the best possible quality of finish with minimum waste and less of an environmental impact.  Demanding jobs like this bring out the best in us, in order to achieve total customer and end-user satisfaction. The experience gained then benefits our entire customer base.”

Environmental concerns play a large part in our own factory processes at Joseph Ash Galvanizing so it is pleasing to have been part of a project which uses biomass as a new source of fuel. The new energy plant has also supported over 250 jobs during the construction phase, and will create 36 new positions once it is completed and operational. 

For further information about the new biomass plant, visit New Steel Construction or the Eastern Daily Press.