Project Challenges
The components broke Australian records: 71m blades, the longest ever transported here at the time, and 5.8m base tower sections, the largest ever, which took up nearly two lanes and needed overhead power lines lifted. All of it was delivered 259km from Portland over 16 months, including threading the blades through the town of Nhill and pressing on through the principal contractor’s collapse midway through the project.
Record-breaking blades
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 largest tower sections yet
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.
Bookend trailers
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.
A long haul, interrupted
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.
