SITE REPORT
INTERNATIONAL AND SPECIALIZED TRANSPORT
■
AUGUST 2013
20
Specialist US lifting
contractor Buckner used a
600 tonne capacity narrow
track Terex crawler to
erect wind turbines in
challenging conditions on
a pair of Hawaiian wind
farms.
IC
reports
C
lean energy must be the source of
70 % of Hawaii’s electricity by 2030
and, according to State law, 40 %
of this has to be produced locally from
renewable sources.
To help meet these targets, Buckner
Companies of Graham, North Carolina,
USA installed wind turbines at two farms
in Oahu and Maui, Hawaii, using a 600
tonne capacity Terex CC 2800-1 NT
Hawaii in the wind
(narrow track) lattice boom crawler crane.
The two wind farms are the Kawailoa
Wind project on Oahu’s North Shore and
the Kaheawa Wind II project in Maui. At
the Kawailoa Wind project 30 turbines
have been erected, with a capacity of
69 MW, while at the second site, the
Kaheawa Wind II project, 14 turbines have
been added to an existing wind farm. The
additional turbines in Maui have increased
the energy output to 51 MW, which is
enough to power 18,700 homes.
Project owner of the two sites is First
Wind of Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
The work was carried out by Buckner for
renewable energy service provider RMT,
based in Wisconsin, USA.
Challenges during the projects included
small set up spaces, narrow roads, steep
terrain and strict installation guidelines
due to a habitat conservation plan to
protect the surrounding environment.
“Because of the challenging site conditions
[in Oahu], we had to assemble and
disassemble the crane three times,”
explains Jay Lusso, technical services
representative for Hayden Murphy
Equipment Company, a Terex Cranes
distributor who was on site to assist with
rigging and derigging the crane.
“The total disassembly and reassembly
process took two to three days,” adds
Kevin Long, Buckner heavy lift project
manager. “If we had needed the superlift
derrick, this would have added another
full day to the process.”
Problems such as the narrow access
routes were overcome thanks to the small
foot print and narrow (5.3 metre) track
width of the CC 2800-1 NT. Crawlers
in the 600 tonne capacity class measure
up to 9.9 m wide to the tracks’ outside
edges. Buckner considered using a 400
Challenges during the two projects
included small set up spaces, narrow
roads, steep terrain and strict guidelines
from a habitat conservation plan
Limited space was a challenge for
Buckner on the Hawaii project
