Collett has commenced turbine component deliveries for the Solwaybank Wind Farm in Dumfries & Galloway in the UK. Consisting of 15 Vestas V100 wind turbines, each featuring 49-metre blades and 75-metre towers, the transport company will move a total of 120 components from Glasgow to the wind farm site.

“With space at a premium at the Glasgow dockside, due to this being the first of two wind farms our teams are currently delivering from King George V and with the cargo of a third project already securely stored, the Port of Grangemouth and our portside location are also being employed for 24 of the tower sections destined for Solwaybank”, the company states.

Utilising four-axle extendable flat trailers and specialist Scheuerle clamp trailers, designed specifically for the transport of wind turbine towers, each component has begun the journey from the port to the construction site.

Alongside these specialist trailers, Collett also employed three Nooteboom Super Wing Carriers to facilitate the movement of the 49m long blades. “Quadruple extendable from 18.65 metres to 64.3 metres, these trailers offered the ideal solution for the blades, providing a 60-degree steering angle and significantly more suspension travel (lift/lower) for extra ground clearance and added platform stability”, Collett notes. Vestas gyro-static frames were fitted to accommodate the tip frames of the Vestas blades with optimum manoeuvrability on the trailer to reduces stress on the blade during transport.

Beginning in July and working to a 9-week schedule, Collett will cover a total of 11,500 miles while delivering each of the cargoes to the awaiting 750-tonne main installation crane on site.