A giant in the mountains
13 March 2015XCMG’s 1,600t capacity XCA5000, which the Chinese manufacturer claims is the biggest all terrain ever built, has been used in Yunnan, China, to lift a 91t nacelle in a challenging mountaintop environment.
At the end of 2014, the XCA5000 made the five day journey from XCMG's factory in Xuzhou to Yunnan province, in the far southwest of China. Approaching the wind farm site, the crane travelled through tight corners up a 10km rough mountain road, in heavy snowfall, at gradients of more than 30%.
The XCA5000 lifted three tower sections, the nacelle, and rotor assembly. It was supported by a 180t QAY180 all terrain and a 70t QY70K truck crane.
XCMG says the XCA5000 can be used to install wind turbines of up to 3.6mW capacity, on towers of up to 110m. It is also aimed at chemical plant construction and infrastructure engineering
