Local transport firm makes special delivery
Transport firm Collett and Sons Ltd made a special delivery of gigantic turbine blades to the Muirhall Wind Farm in South Lanarkshire. Approval was recently granted for phase three of the project, with Halifax-based Collett’s having already delivered two turbines for the second phase in 2014.
Those turbines held the record for the largest onshore turbine blade until now, with these latest blades measuring 58.7m in length.
Collett’s had to undertake meticulous planning ahead of the delivery, providing swept path analysis reports and route access surveys before undertaking a test drive of the route with a vehicle adapted to accurately reflect the loaded vehicle dimensions.
As a result, it was neccessary to remove street furniture, relocate signage and lamp posts and prune foliage along the route.
Two vessels delivered the sections from abroad to the port of Grangemouth, the first arriving from Poland carrying the nine turbine blades, the second from Turkey carrying the nine tower sections.
As the vessels arrived, Collett’s began unloading the ships. One by one each of the components were lifted from the vessel to an agreed laydown plan portside at Colletts’ Grangemouth heavy lift storage facility.
Each component was stra- tegically positioned to allow for ease of loading in line with the delivery schedule.
The first delivery to site set off in November. In order to minimise disruption, and due to the size of the cargoes and the route they would be travelling, each convoy consisted of one tower section and one turbine blade.
Accompanied by Collett’s pilot vehicles and under police escort, the convoy made its way along the route, manoeuvring the components through the villages of South Lanarkshire.
Muirhall Wind Farm phase three extension, also known as Muirhall South, is expected to be operational in March and will offset 10,848 tonnes of CO2 per annum whilst supplying up to 5,773 homes with electricity over the 25 year lifetime.