Sarens Installs Tallest Wind Turbines in Australia
Sapphire Wind Farm installation now boasts tallest wind turbines in Australia
6
February 2019

Sarens is proud to have installed the tallest wind turbine towers in all of Australia. These colossal turbines are located at the Sapphire Wind Farm in Glenn Innes, New South Wales, which is also the largest wind farm in the region. 

"Sarens installed the tallest wind turbines in Australia to date, on challenging terrain," says project manager Minhaj Rizvi. "To do it, we deployed our specialised crane, LG1750 SX, which is capable of operating safely at greater heights." 

Sarens worked on the project from September of 2017 through November of 2018, steadily installing 75 Vestas V126-3.6MW wind turbines on behalf of project owner CWP Renewables and client Vestas Wind Technology. 

To complete the project successfully, Sarens mobilised its brand new LG1750 SX crane to Australia. The LG1750 SX was selected as the optimum crane for the installation because of its 137-metre hub height. It was shipped to Brisbane, Australia from a factory in Germany, and then transported by road to the installation site. Altogether, it required 60 days to rig, including shipping time. 

The LG1750 SX crane worked simultaneously with the LG 1750 crane, which was already available in the region due to a previous Sarens operation in Adelaide. Together, these two cranes lifted 137-metre high wind turbine components, including the heaviest, a nacelle weighing 65 tonnes. 

In all, five teams worked together to install the turbine components at great heights. These 35 crew members and 5 site managers worked tirelessly despite the challenging terrain, sensitive local flora and fauna, and difficult weather conditions, including sub-zero winter temperatures and strong winds. They successfully installed all 75 wind turbines in a challenging, remote location. Sarens congratulates everyone who worked to make this monumental project such a great success!

Watch the video of the operation here!