Craning waste for energy

In January 2015, Konecranes received an order for three cranes from Andritz Oy. The cranes ordered are two grab cranes and one turbine hall service crane. They will be installed at the end of this year at the Riikinvoima waste-to-energy power plant in Leppävirta, Finland, a project supplied by Andritz.

Start-up of the new waste to energy (WTE) power plant is scheduled for end-2016 and it will serve citizens in East and Central Finland. The value of the order is undisclosed. 
Andritz Oy is a member of the Andritz Group, a global supplier of plants, equipment, and services for hydropower stations, the pulp and paper industry, the metalworking and steel industries, and solid/liquid separation in the municipal and industrial sectors.



Konecranes will deliver two automatic grab cranes to the WTE plant’s fuel storage. The cranes will have hydraulic ‘orange peel’ type grabs for stacking, mixing and feeding material into the waste bunker. The turbine hall service crane will mainly be used for service and assembly purposes. “We are very pleased about this order,” says Jari Myyryläinen, head of Industry Applications, Konecranes. “It is the first WTE plant where Konecranes’ delivery will include Remote Operation Station (ROS) for the crane operator. This means that the crane operator will drive the crane from the control room’s screens, based on camera views without physically seeing the cranes at all.”  

New waste-to-energy plants are aiming for higher efficiency, lower emissions, while increasing capacity. To reach both environmental and financial targets, the customers in WTE need high availability, a high degree of automation and energy efficiency from their production critical equipment.

“Konecranes’ one key strategic initiative is Industrial Internet, where we make machines intelligent and aware of their condition, and network them to create real-time visibility for enhanced safety and productivity, says Myyryläinen. “The new ROS concept is a good example of how we are utilising the latest technology to improve safety and efficiency of our customer’s operations.”