Finnish heavy haulage and project forwarding company Silvasti Ltd. specialises in wind turbine projects in Finland, Sweden and the Baltic countries. The company provides total logistics solutions for the most challenging installations, and in 2008, received a major contract to deliver 13 x 3 MW wind turbines to Aulepa Wind Park, on the west coast of Estonia.
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Here, Director Matias Setälä talks us through the operation. The blades were manufactured in Poland, the rest of the cargo in Finland. Each turbine included:
Nacelle 14 x 4,4 x 4,7 (l x w x h [m]), 127 tons
Hub 4,7 x 4,7 x 4,05 / 27 tons
Tower section 1. 21 x 4,2 x 4,2 / 50 tons
Tower section 2. 28,34 x 3,725 x 3,725 / 50 tons
Foundation block 4,2 x 4,2 x 1,2 / 9 tons
Three blades, each 49,5 x 4 x 2,7 / 12,2 tons
Transport from Finland – nacelle, towers, hub and foundation block
The first step of the project was to carry out careful road studies and site surveys in order to find out the optimal transport routes. Silvasti had the idea to find a transport route that would accommodate a six metre high load. This would make it possible to transport the nacelle by modular axle lines, and the tower sections by semi-low loaders with a 1m loading height.
Using semi-low loaders for towers is a cheaper, faster and easier solution compared to tower adapter trucks. As in Finland, northern Sweden and Estonia, it’s possible to drive with relatively high loads, so use of semi-low loaders is always an option for wind turbine towers in these areas. Also, relatively high axle loads are allowed in Finland and Estonia so the transportation of the nacelle by road was also the preferred method. Another option that was planned in early stage was to use a barge with tug-boats to minimise the need for road transport.
