Innovation
PROJECT SCOPE:
The Biala Wind Farm consisted of 31 Goldwind GW136 3.5MW wind turbine generators, situated near Goulburn in New South Wales. ARES transported all wind turbine components from the Port of Port Kembla to site, a distance of 220km one way.
ARES delivered all 31 turbines’ components from Port Kembla within 16 weeks, at almost two complete turbines per week, despite ship discharges, the Easter long weekend and COVID-19. The custom trailer let Goldwind keep their preferred port and brought substantial savings.
Goldwind described the work as a comprehensive solution covering planning, permitting, vessel discharge and delivery to site, run day to day by highly skilled professionals, and credited the flexibility and efficiency shown across the project with helping achieve the target under budget.
Base tower sections measuring 4.8 metres in diameter and weighing 110 tonnes required a specialised transport solution capable of safely supporting the load while navigating height-restricted infrastructure.
A 5.3-metre bridge in Wollongong prevented conventional trailers from using the preferred Port Kembla route, while transporting the components from Newcastle would have nearly doubled the distance, cost and risk.
A modified platform trailer featuring a specialised cut-out lowered the tower section to a loaded height of 5.1 metres, enabling it to safely pass beneath the bridge.
Several corners through Crookwell were modified to accommodate 69-metre turbine blades, while ship discharges, Easter closures and COVID-19 disruptions required careful coordination throughout the 16-week delivery program.
Cargo Carried
Each turbine stands 180m tall (base to tip), has 6 tower sections and produces 3.5MW of green power.
Components were on the road between February and August 2020.
The journey took around 5-6 hours, including slowdowns and fatigue breaks.
These include turbine components, towers, blades, transformers and containers.
We are very pleased with ARES and the logistics service they have provided at Biala Wind Farm for WTG transport. Their comprehensive solution covers every key aspect including planning, permitting, vessel discharge, and delivery to site, and the daily operation is well managed by highly skilled professionals. Their performance has been recognised by not only the project team but also our subcontractors. The flexibility and efficiency they have demonstrated throughout the Biala project helped us achieve the target under budget. I trust they will continue with excellent performance on future projects and wish for the next opportunity to work with them again.