In the construction of a wind turbine, the three rotor blades required usually reach the wind farm together. This is preferably done at night in order to minimise the disruption to the traffic infrastructure. In such a project, carried out by Ter Linden Transport from the Netherlands, the convoy makes its way with a length of a good 300m.
The waiting is over at last. On Wednesday, the three Nordex NR74.5 wind turbine blades had already been mounted on the three FlexMAX self-steering trailer combinations with rotor blade transport system. However, the journey from the harbour in Antwerp to Oost-Zeedijk in the Netherlands isn‘t scheduled until the evening of the following Monday. It is dusk as the driver Patrick Houtenbos and his two colleagues check their vehicles one last time. Everything is ready to go. “Our companions are coming now and then we‘ll be off.“ Patrick Houtenbos is not easily ruffled. „That‘s the way it has to be. With our team, the coordination works great.“
Like a shining chain through the night
Clear and precise communication is essential, because attentiveness is a must due to the overall length of such a combination. Walkie-talkies are therefore ubiquitous. Arjan Westerveld sits in one of the escort vehicles and operates the power steering of one of the trailers at the motorway entrance and in narrow exit areas. There are quite a few such treacherous passages to overcome during the approximately three-hour journey. „Only self-steering trailers with adapters make the necessary manoeuvrability possible with the long blades“, he says, speaking from experience. Over a distance of about 150km, the elongated entourage looks like an illuminated chain that stretches towards Zeeland.
Compact for the unladen journey
Patrick Houtenbos manoeuvres his combination with the 73-metre-long wind turbine blade over the last few metres to the unloading site by reversing. In the darkness of the night, everything seems even more mystical. Lights off, engine off - now it‘s time for a break. With the first rays of sunshine, preparations for the next step begin. The two cranes are waiting to lift the rotor blades on their frame construction out of the adapters. The nearby coastal strip is barely visible behind the dike. But there‘s no time for the beauties of nature, because there‘s still work to do.
Everything goes according to plan and the Ter Linden team reassembles its vehicles into three compact combinations for the unladen journey. The wind farm is now nearing completion. The three Nordex N149 turbines with a mast height of 125m will generate 60,000 megawatt hours of power annually in the future. Meanwhile, the next stop for Patrick Houtenbos, Arjan Westerveld and Co. is Denmark. Once again, wind power projects are on the agenda. So, hardly any break for the well-rehearsed team. „We have the schedule under control“, they say unanimously. One last joke follows and then it‘s back on the road.
Date of publication: 09/2024