Huge wind turbine blades have started their journey to Coopers Gap Wind Farm, breaking records for the largest wind turbine blades ever transported in Australia.
A trial delivery was recently successfully completed in preparation for sustained overnight deliveries for the remainder of 2018.
AGL Project Manager, Tim Knill, said the largest blades are 67.2m long and weigh 22 tonnes.
“Several shipments of wind farm components, including the blades, have arrived at the Port of Brisbane and are in storage awaiting transportation,” Mr Knill said.
“The movement of such large pieces of equipment requires detailed planning and we are predicting approximately 1,200 oversize movements, involving blades, hubs, tower sections and nacelles.
“We aim to minimise the impacts on commuters, so many of the movements are done at night time.
“However, at times we will need to have major sections of highways, including the Toowoomba Range, closed to align with our commitment to safety.
“The long blades ensure more energy is captured by every wind turbine. This brings down the cost of generation, but creates a high level of complexity in managing the transportation.”
In total, the project will see the construction of 123 wind turbines, comprising a total of 91 3.63MW turbines (137m rotor diameter) and 32 3.83MW (130m rotor diameter) turbines.
The wind turbines will have a tip height of 180m. The hub height (axis or rotation) will be 110m (3.63MW) or 115m (3.83MW).
“The total capacity of the wind farm will be 453MW, making it the largest wind farm by megawatt capacity in Australia. It’s expected to be fully operational by mid-2019, with 20 ongoing jobs created on site to maintain and operate the turbines.
“It’s estimated around $56 million will be spent by the project on services provided by local businesses during the construction phase.”
