An Erickson Air Crane lifts a blade for transport to a location inaccessible by truck traffic.
The European office of Erickson Air-Crane has teamed-up with Vestas Wind Systems A/S of Denmark to construct twelve new V90-3.0 3 MW wind turbine generators on ridge tops near the mountain village of Ricigliano, Italy.
The S-64F air crane flew with a 400 ft (125 m) line to deliver 36 blades – each 144 ft (44 m) – that will attach to the generators. Narrow roads with tight corners and steep grades made conventional crane delivery difficult. The air crane made easier work of the job by carrying individual blades from a central staging yard about 9 miles away (15 km) to each construction site. The craft lifted the blades, each 15,800-lb (7,110 kg), in less than 4 days. “We worked closely with Vestas to craft a rigging system tailored to their individual blade design that provided a higher than expected level of stability and safety,” Mark Lumry, project manager for Erickson Air-Crane, said. The air crane has a max payload of about 25,000 lb. A few more specs follow.
Vestas currently offers several wind turbine models from the 850 kW V52 to the largest model, the V90 3 MW turbine generator, which generates power for approximately 3,400 households, according to the Vestas website.
Erickson Air-Crane
www.ericksonaircrane.com
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