January 25 - Sembcorp engineers and specialist heavy lifting contractors worked together to ensure the latest piece of green technology was safely lifted into place at Wilton Power Station.

The condenser unit - a key part of the GBP20 million (USD31.5 million) Sembcorp ST11 steam turbine generator - arrived at the Wilton International site by sea recently following its construction in Goerlitz, eastern Germany.

The unit is one of a number of key component parts of ST11 with the Siemens built generator, turbine and ancillaries due to arrive and be installed in the next few weeks.

A section of external walling at the power station - which provides combined heat and power (CHP) to companies at Wilton - had to be removed to accommodate the various sections prior to installation.

Once on site, specialist lifting company ALE had to fit the condenser through a gap with just inches to spare on all sides.

"The lift was a well coordinated, well executed piece of work requiring great skill and precision and even more importantly it was carried out safely" said Sembcorp project manager Simon Robinson.

The ST11 steam turbine will greatly enhance the performance and efficiency of Wilton Power Station, which has served the site since major plants first started to be built in the 1950s.

Expected to be fully operational by the middle of the year, the ST11 investment will enable Sembcorp to generate 52 MW of additional electricity.

Nick Booth, senior vice president for business development at Sembcorp, said: "This is another major step forward in the greening of our assets and complements and builds upon other investments we have made in recent years, including the construction of the £64 million biomass power station."

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