INTERNATIONAL ANDSPECIALIZED TRANSPORT
■
APRIL 2015
49
UK-based transport companyCollett
&Sonshas also completedanumberof
turbine transport projects, including the
transportationof turbine sections from
Chepstow,Wales to theClashindarroch
WindFarm, nearHuntly,Grampian,
Scotland. Theproject included supplying
18Senvionwind turbinegenerators. To
avoid congestionon site, the turbineswere
delivered to theCollettGrangemouthdepot
and thebladesweredelivered toa facility
in Inverness. “This allowed for a flexible
and cost effectivehandling chargebyusing
Collett'sown cranemounted trucks to
handle, loadand transport theblades,” a
spokesperson said. “Additionally the route
favoured thepermit application for the
bladesonly. ThePort ofGrangemouthwas
used toaccept hubs andnacellesby ship.”
Newproducts
For installation, contractors and endusers
tend to favour large telescopicboom cranes
toassemble the concrete ringsof the towers
toa certainheight. Larger latticeboom
cranes tend tobeused toassemble the
higher tower sections, aswell as the turbine
andblades,WolfgangBeringer, sales
promotionLiebherr-WerkEhingen says.
Toovercomepotential problemswith
turbine transport and erection, equipment
manufacturershavedevelopeda range
ofmoreversatile equipment solutions,
providing endusers and contractors a
wide choiceof how to transport, lift and
assemble turbines.
FromChinesemanufacturerXCMG,
for example, is the2,000 tonne capacity
XCA5000all terrain crane. The latest
turbineproject for thenew cranewas
rules and local authorityapprovals all have
adirect impact on thewaywind farms
aredeveloped.
The latestwind turbineproject for
heavy lift and specialized transport service
providerALE, for example, is theWest
Coast project in theWesternCape, 50km
fromSaldanhaBayPort, in theWestern
Cape, SouthAfrica.
SouthAfrica is enjoyingabusy time
forwind turbine installation, asChristo
vanderMerwe,ALEaccountmanager for
SouthAfrica, explains, “Thewind energy
market is aparticularlybusy industry for
us and the regionas awhole. Sincewe
completed theHopefieldproject in2013,
wehavebeen continuallyawardedwork
within this sector across SouthAfricaand
havebeen involved in eightwind energy
projects.Currently,we are at the final stages
of theWestCoast project in theWestern
Cape regionof SouthAfrica.Here,wewere
contracted to transport andprepare47
80-metre-high2MWVestaswind turbine
generators for installation.Weused4-axle
extendable trailers for theblades and
8-axle extendable trailers for the towers
andnacelles.Offloadingoperationswere
handledusinga250 tonne, a220 tonne
anda130 tonnemobile crane. Theproject
started inNovember 2014andwill be
completed inMarch2015.”
>
WINDPOWERUPDATE
Anew
direction
Manufacturers and endusers are looking towards
new solutions andupgraded equipment tokeep
upwith thedemands of wind turbine installations.
LAURAHATTON investigates
TheGoldhofer
SPZ-PAAAA
Super LIft inaction
ALEat theWest Coast
project in theWestern
Cape, SouthAfrica. Tasks
includedoffloadingand
transportingwind
turbine components
T
he attitude towards renewable energy
has shifted in recent years andwind
energy inparticular is increasingly
beingviewedas anecessity.AsPeter
Hofmann, Liebherr-WerkBiberachheadof
communications, tower cranes, pointsout,
political leaders are starting to investmore
inwind farm technologyanddevelopers
are comingupwithnew solutions toget
more energyout of lowwind.
Inaddition to these influences,wind
farm site conditions varyall over theworld
and issues suchas space, environmental
