The transport of the longest-ever wind bladed on African soil has been completed by the specialised heavy lift installation company, Vanguard. The company has wrapped up the record-breaking transport for one of three project sites. 

To move the 82.5 metre-long blades, Vanguard had to design a suitable transport solution. The blades required a transport arrangement with a total length of 95 metres which utilised Vanguard’s six new Rotor Blade Transport System (RBTS) trailers, from TII Scheuerle, to transport the wind farm components approximately 450 kilometres from Coega Port to the site. This would be the first time this equipment had been used outside of Europe and would become the longest distance the equipment had been used to transport blades, according to Vanguard.

Scope and logistics

This project site was a 140MW onshore wind energy facility situated in Northern Cape, South Africa and consisted of 26 turbines, each consisting of 7 abnormal loads and a number of smaller loads that transported various turbine ancillaries.

The project involved handling a high number of loads and covering a long route. The complexity of the project was also increased by the numerous challenges that needed to be overcome. One of the critical challenges was the design layout at Coega Port, which was crucial for the engineering works due to the large number of components arriving at the port, including 234 of the longest blades to be offloaded in South Africa. It was essential to store the cargo in a way that allowed for access and manoeuvrability at all times in order to ensure smooth transport operations.

In total, the project entailed nine vessel discharges and the port handling works for all cargo over a period of 15 months.

Extensive engineering works were carried out on the 450km route. Vanguard completed route surveys and swept path analysis to understand the pinch points along the route, including street furniture and telecom lines within the towns that the cargo would need to pass through. Bridges had to be navigated with the highest level of precision, and new roads had to be built to allow access for the convoys.

The RBTS dollie system was selected because it allowed Vanguard to overcome the low bridge challenges along the route with great success. Other trailer arrangements would have been unable to navigate these restrictions while transporting the blades without damaging the cargo or the surroundings. An additional truck was required for the moves to successfully overcome steep gradients and difficult terrain along the route.

The blades had to travel along the Olifantskop mountain pass en route to the site, and each convoy of blades required the closure of the highway for over one hour. Using the RBTS dollie system enabled Vanguard to reduce the cutting and destruction of the natural vegetation along the route, thereby reducing the environmental impacts of the project.

The majority of main loads required police escorts across two provinces, which required substantial administrative and logistical coordination. Various transport embargoes were in place throughout South Africa, and adverse weather conditions across different regions, including floods and snow, were challenges that had to be managed.

Upon arrival at the site, two 8×8 all-drive trucks working in tandem were required to negotiate the difficult gradients and terrain in order to deliver the loads to the relevant hardstands. The generator loads, each weighing 130 tons, were transported on 12-axle trailers to the laydown area and then transloaded onto 7-axle trailers, as the 12-axle trailers were too heavy for onsite transportation.

Vanguard looking forward

Despite the challenges the project faced, it was delivered on time and in advance of the schedule.

“Understanding the scale of the challenges faced within this first project, have meant the successful deliveries to site have been greatly received by our client. With further scopes of work having been agreed with orders placed for a continuation of Vanguards services,” Patrick Valentin, Project Manager at Vanguard, said.

“This project has been months in the planning across all areas of the business and it’s been a great achievement to have reached a significant milestone, where all the components have been successfully delivered to the first site. The team have worked tirelessly and approached each obstacle with positivity and the enthusiasm to get the project delivered in the right way.”