Woodland turbine challenge for Voser Transport

Voser Transport was commissioned to carry the components for an Enercon E82 wind turbine 2km from Borgholzhausen, Germany to an installation site across hilly and dense woodland terrain.

While the transport of some components only took 40 minutes to complete, the three 9t rotor blades provided the biggest challenge, with the first rotor blade move taking over 24hrs.

Voser Transport used a 6-axle Scheuerle InterCombi SP equipped with a rotor blade adapter that would allow the rotor blades to be raised up to an angle of 23°, a key feature for the task at hand.

Lifted onto the vehicle by crane, the rotor was connected to the adapter via the flange bolts on the rotors connection point before setting off.

At several points along the route the angle of the blade was adjusted, using remote control, to allow the transport to pass difficult sections. These included hairpin bends, dense forest either side of the track and track sections with cross-gradients and inclines of up to 15°.

At some points along the route trees had to be removed to carry the rotor blade through, and progress was further slowed by icy ground conditions. Where the icy road could not be navigated solely using the InterCombi SPs anti-skid control feature, the operator had to wait for a road-gritting vehicle.

This meant that by dusk the first journey had still not been completed, so Voser took the decision to leave the transport, complete with adapter and rotor blade, parked on a track section with a 15° incline until the following morning.

The next day the journey continued and with a little more tree felling and careful navigation, the transport reached its destination, having paved the way for the remaining components to be moved to the installation site at a quicker pace.