Case Studies

Universal Cranes worked closely with UGL Engineering on the planning and execution of the Western Downs Battery Storage project at Kogan Creek, around a four-hour drive from Brisbane. The project was Stage 2 of the Western Downs Solar Farm battery storage facility.

Planning commenced in November 2024, and the formal contract for the supply of cranage was signed in April 2025.

The Universal Cranes lift engineering team worked closely with UGL to develop lift plans with crane locations to suit the nominated deliveries each day, so transport deliveries were not delayed. This included finding a single setup location where the main heavy lift crane could unload both the batteries and the transformers.

Crawler cranes were considered, but an All Terrain crane provided the best ground bearing pressure and radius options.

Planning also included a review of the switch room position and options to avoid underground cabling. 100t, 130t and 150t options were assessed, and the switch rooms were ultimately placed with the 150t All Terrain crane.

• Demag AC350/6 (350t All Terrain): main heavy lift crane for batteries and transformers from a single setup location
• Liebherr LTM1150-5.3 (150t All Terrain): switch room placement
• 60t All Terrain: multiple visits for site lifts
• 40t Franna: transformers while the 350t was lifting batteries
• 25t Franna: dry hired to assist with crane relocations and site lifts

• Incident-free lifting
• No injuries
• No equipment breakdowns
• Fatigue managed in a remote location
• Helped UGL celebrate the unloading and placement of its 1,000th battery on Australian projects