Polish heavy lift contractor MS Industry used an Enerpac SBL1100 hydraulic gantry for the installation of transformers at the Baltic Power substation.
The Baltic Power wind farm, located about 23 km offshore Poland, will have a generating capacity of up to 1.2 GW when completed in 2026. Energy generated by the turbines will be transported via export cables to an onshore substation currently under construction. MS Industry delivered and installed two transformers, each weighing 354 tonnes, to the project’ s substation.
The 13.5 m x 5.3 m x 4.8 m transformers were transported to the installation site using SPMTs. The SBL1100 gantry was used to lift the units clear of the SPMTS, before being skidded along the gantry’s 7 m skid track, in line with a pre-laid installation track. Using the gantry’s wireless control system, the operator was able to raise and lower the gantry header beam and side shift units to position and gently lower the transformer onto the installation track.
Space limitations and the unsuitability of using a crane given the variable ground conditions meant the gantry system was best suited to this job, said Robert Samczyk, ceo at MS Industry. “The combination of vertical and horizontal movements using the operator’s wireless control system gave us the precision we needed to place the transformer in the installation track.”
