After successful completion of the concreting of the foundations of boiler No. 5 and 6, Mostostal Warszawa has begun the next stage of the investment commissioned by PGE, which is the assembly of the steel structure of boiler unit No. 5. According to the plans, the work will last until June 2016.

“The project is entering the next phase of implementation. Work is progressing according to schedule and with broad participation of Polish companies. The two high-performance power units in Opole Power Plant will increase the value of the Group. The key to the viability of the project will include the use of the latest technologies to achieve net efficiency in electricity production approx. 25 percent higher than currently obtained in the Polish energy sector. Implementation of this project will also significantly reduce the power plant's impact on the environment,” says Marek Woszczyk, CEO of PGE Polish Energy Group. 

Elements of the main structure will be installed using a crane tower with a height of 130 metres and a maximum lifting capacity of 124 tons, set in the middle of the boiler unit. The main boiler house steel structure consists of more than 100 items that will be installed on axes measuring 30 by 30 metres and a height of 120 metres. The heaviest elements, the main columns each weighing about 90 tons, will be the first to be installed. The materials needed to complete this phase of the project will be stored on sites with a total area of ​​about 12,000 square metres. 

“The scale and complexity of the installation of the boiler is reflected in its numbers. At the final stage, we will begin secondary assembly, which will be performed using six tower cranes. Just like the main structure, the secondary structure will be mounted to a level of 120 metres. The estimated amount of the secondary structure is about 20,000 tons for each of the blocks. Work on such a demanding project requires proper planning, the use of specialised equipment and the involvement of experienced engineers - we are ready for it,” said Jose Angel Andres Lopez, Executive Vice President for Production at Mostostal Warszawa SA. 

According to the plan, after the completion of the main structure of the boiler unit installation work will begin on the external steel grate, which will be lifted using hydraulic hoists. Work on this phase will last about a week. 

The project of building 2 x 900 MW blocks being carried out by PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna, a subsidiary of the PGE Capital Group, is not only the largest of the currently ongoing energy contracts in Poland, but also the largest industrial investment since 1989. Worth nearly PLN 11.6 billion, the project for PGE Capital Group is being performed by a consortium of companies: Rafako, Mostostal Warszawa and Polimex-Mostostal in cooperation with Alstom Power.

The consortium is successfully completing another key stage of the investment. According to the schedule, block No. 5 will be commissioned in July 2018, and block No. 6 in February 2019. The new blocks will produce 12.5 TWh of electricity per year, which will meet the needs of more than 4 million households.