Ramboll secures major role on UK coal to biomass conversion

Date: 01/07/2016

Ramboll has been appointed to provide engineering consultancy services to the proposed conversion of Lynemouth Power Station from coal to biomass. The converted plant will export around 390MW of low carbon electricity to the national grid.

Wood pellets will be imported to the plant from global fuel supply markets, via a newly constructed biomass import terminal at the Port of Tyne (Newcastle UK), which along with the power plant and site fuel storage and handling, also falls within the scope of Ramboll’s work.

The project has just passed a significant milestone of letting contracts with a number of major contractors for the detailed design and construction phase together with Ramboll’s appointment for project management and design services.

An international team comprising staff from across Ramboll’s global energy unit supported earlier development stages of the project – establishing a good client relationship and providing a basis for this appointment.

Ramboll was chosen by LPL from a competitive field of UK power engineering consultancies, having demonstrated our ability to deliver high quality resources, a strong local team for site management work, backed up by global leading expertise in the field of coal to biomass conversion, including the critical safety issues associated with such projects.

Mike Wheeler, Vice Director of Ramboll’s Power division, said: “Our ability to deliver the large-scale and expert resources required by Power sector clients to support such projects has been critical.” This project provides Ramboll with its highest profile UK energy sector appointment to date.

Ramboll will provide Owner’s Engineer services; including project and programme management, expert design review, safety and site management, and co-ordination of several construction packages, managing cross-cutting interface issues for LPL. Overall Ramboll expects to supply in the region of 50 man-years of support.

Ramboll has already undertaken significant project roles in the North East of England, having been responsible for the structural design of the Gateshead Millennium Bridge and the new Northumbria Hospital in Cramlington. Ramboll opened its office in Newcastle, fittingly beside the Milennium Bridge on the Newcastle Quayside, in September 2013.