Scheuerle SPMTS used for tricky turbine parts
20 July 2011Wagenborg, a Dutch transport specialist, used Scheuerle Self Propelled Modular Transporters (SPMTs) to deliver pre-assembled rotor stars to a wind farm off the German coast.
Alpha Ventus was the first German offshore wind farm, and is situated in the North Sea 45km from the coast of Borkum.
It has 12 5mW units including six AREVA Wind M5000 turbines and six REpower 5M turbines,
Wagenborg transported the rotor star units, with diameters of between 116 and 118m on 20 SPMT axle lines. Each rotor/hub assembly weighed 150t.
The firm was able to move the nacelles using electronically steered InterCombi SPEs provided by Scheuerle.
Upon reaching the dock, Wagenborg maneuvered the rotor star assemblies over the edge of the SPMT, after placing a specially designed device on the SPMT, as the barge could not reach the quayside
Part of the SPMT platform, made of 2 axles, was edged over the water while the other part was loaded with counterweights, allowing a shipboard crane to pick up the rotor.
Scheuerle said, “Numerous vehicle concepts for the transport of offshore engine nacelles for the Alpha Ventus project also originated from Scheuerle. Depending on the size and weight, vehicle combinations could be configured that exactly matched the transportation task.“
