Innovation
PROJECT SCOPE:
The Yaloak South Wind Farm consisted of 14 Senvion MM92 wind turbine generators, situated near Geelong in Victoria. ARES transported turbine components from Geelong and towers from Whyalla to site.
ARES delivered all components for the 61 Senvion 3.7M144 turbines from Portland to Murra Warra, staging deliveries over 16 months after the cargo arrived across 26 ships over the prior year. This included the longest blades ever transported in Australia at the time, at 71m, and the largest base tower sections, at 5.8m in diameter, moved 259km on a route that skirted the Grampians and passed through Nhill.
The bookend trailers kept the oversized tower sections clear of overhead assets, while careful planning and consultation carried the record blades through Nhill with minimal impact on the community. The deliveries held together even as the principal contractor changed midway through the project.
The blades were the longest ever transported in Australia at the time, at 71 metres, an unprecedented logistical challenge. That included having to move them through the middle of the Victorian town of Nhill, where careful planning and consultation kept the impact on the community to a minimum.
The base tower sections were the largest ever transported in Australia, at 5.8m in diameter. On their trailers they took up nearly two lanes of a typical country road, and their height meant a large number of overhead power lines had to be lifted before they could pass.
To move the 5.8m tower sections, ARES used specially made bookend trailers that minimised overall transport height and kept clear of overhead assets. They were adjustable for a range of tower flange sizes, so they could carry a variety of sections, and strong enough to take tower weights of up to 80 tons.
Components arrived into Portland over 12 months across 26 separate ships, received under hook and moved to nearby storage before being staged to site over 16 months on the 259km run. Deliveries continued even through the adversity and uncertainty of the principal contractor changing midway through the project.
Cargo Carried
The Senvion “Hercules” turbine lived up to its name, able to produce 3.7MW from its 144m-diameter rotor.
The previous record of 67.2m was only set a few months before – showing the rapid pace of technological progress.
The journey took around 6 hours, with trucks able to be offloaded and return to port on the same day.
These include turbine components, towers, blades, transformers and containerised cargo.