Vanguard begins moving longest wind turbine blades to travel within SA

Vanguard has announced that it has designed and has now started the transportation of the longest wind turbine blades ever to travel in South Africa from Coega Port to Noupoort which will take place over the next 12 months.

The blades, measuring 82.5m long, required a transport rig with a total length of 95m.

“The knowledge and experience within the business has enabled the successful completion of this critical first stage of the project for Vanguard,” reads the release.

“With 78 sets arriving into Coega Port and each set containing 3 blades, a nacelle, a generator, a hub and containers, over 550 individual pieces of cargo are required to be transported 500km to Noupoort.”, explained Joost Heystek, project manager at Vanguard.

“This project has been months in the planning and it’s great to see all of the preparation and engineering work come to life with the transport phase beginning.”

The design of the port layout has been critical within the engineering works. Due to the number of components arriving at the port, including 234 of the longest blades to be offloaded in South Africa, it is essential that the cargo is stored to allow for access and manoeuvrability at all times. This will enable the transport operation of two convoys per week, for the next 12 months, to run smoothly.

Extensive engineering works have also been carried out on the 500km 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. As well as bridges that need to be navigated with the highest level of precision and new roads that have been built to allow access for the convoys.