Siemens has awarded the contract to the Australian division of Sarens for the installation of 32 wind turbines at the second phase of the Hornsdale Farm in South Australia. Sarens is performing all lifting works, relocation of the cranes and small transport on site. Sarens has successfully undertaken several wind farm installations in Australia over the last 10 years, emerging as the Reference in the industry. 

Hornsdale Stage II will be providing clean energy for 70,000 Australian homes along with providing employment, training, and investment opportunities in South Australia. The installation of the turbines began in December 2016 and the farm is expected to be operational by June 2017. 

To achieve the required installation rate Sarens deployed the right fleet of cranes and an experienced team. Mobilisation to site was done as much as possible by Sarens transport equipment and optimized by using the trucks, trailers and floats which were eventually required for the on-site activities. Walter Giori, Sarens Support Project Manager: "One of the smoothest and best organized mobilisations to site I have ever experienced on a project. It is a pleasure working with the Australian team". 

During the course of the project Sarens used the GR800EX, Tadano ATF110, Tadano ATF130, Liebherr LTM1130, Liebherr LTM1500, Liebherr LG1750 config. SP SL8HS (98m main boom), 100 floats, 3 prime movers and 10 trailers. The LTM1500 was used to install the two base sections of the tower (including top and tailing operation). The LG1750 was used to install the two top sections of the tower, the nacelle, builds the rotor, and lifts the rotor in place. 

The hub height of each wind turbine is 92.5m and the project includes installation of 32 of these wind turbines. 

One of the biggest challenges faced during the operation was the high wind velocity which could have caused delays. Since the client (Siemens) provides the mechanical and electrical installation teams to assemble the wind turbines, a strong partnership between Sarens crew and Siemens crew played a vital role in smooth execution of the project. Besides wind, the often hilly terrain made the assembly and rigging of the main crane (LG1750) very challenging. Despite the challenges Sarens is successfully installing the wind turbines within the challenging deadline. Sarens Project Manager, Tim Devoldere remarks, "We have a very motivated and skilled team on site that works closely together with the Siemens installation crew to make this a safe and successful project". 

Country manager, Australia, Luk Roelandts mentions, "Our organization is very pleased to perform this work for Siemens in South Australia. It shows our commitment to deliver high quality services for the wind industry turbine installation. We see this project as an important milestone and reference in the Australian wind industry which is positioning Sarens as a leading wind turbine installation service provider".