ALE delivers Thai wind farm

The turbines that needed to be handled measured up to 5.4m in diameter and weighed up to 125t. With a hub height of 162m, these are the tallest wind turbine generators (WTGs) in South East Asia.

Apart from the sheer size of the WTG components, the project entailed numerous challenges in terms of logistics and routing. The cargo needed to cover a distance of 1,000km, with varying obstacles and levels of infrastructure across the country that required additional civils work.

In order to overcome these challenges, ALE utilised its local routing and engineering expertise, and invested in specialist wind equipment, such as the unique RA4 tower clamps and the new 135t-capacity Kroll K1650L tower crane.

Manufactured in collaboration with Goldhofer to transport larger and heavier components, the tower clamps enabled ALE to comply with the local weight and height restrictions. The new clamps–which can transport towers weighing up to 150t–enable more axles to be placed underneath and transport the towers at a lower ground level, distributing the load more efficiently.

Similarly, the Kroll K1650L was used as a cost and time effective solution to install the WTGs. Thanks to the short 70m boom, the area to boom up and down can be significantly shortened when compared to any equivalent lattice boom crane. The very short minimum boom radius, allows the developer to reduce the portion of land to be acquired and cleared.

“This is a complex scope of work and route to be undertaken. The new tower clamps enabled us to overcome the large diameters of the tower sections and reduce the travelling height to pass under the restrictions on route. Combined with the tower crane, our equipment and methodology has driven project efficiency,” said project manager Matt Thomson.