Liebherr Crawler Cranes at Indian Wind Farm Site
The 600t capacity cranes are owned by heavy-lift rental specialist Shethia Erectors & Material Handlers Ltd of Mumbai and were supplied new by the mobile cranes division of Liebherr India Pvt Ltd, earlier this year.
India's wind potential is huge and supportive government policy at both national and state levels mean that wind power is seen as a key ingredient of the country's future energy mix.
Denmark-based Vestas has been in India since 1997 and employs almost 1,000 people there. Headquartered in Chennai, Vestas produces 600 turbines a year to a completely modular design, the units being trucked to the site where they are assembled.
To date nine windmills with 1.8MW capacity have been installed at Vandhiya by a venture between Vestas India and Sustainable Energy Australasia Ltd and will form a 16.2 MW wind farm on a high plain of scrubland where there are already a number of other wind farms.
These turbines will be connected by an internal 33 kV overhead line which in turn would be connected to 33 kV/132 kV and 33 kV/220 kV switchgear substations at Surajbari and Jangi respectively.
Vestas India's construction manager on the site, Shashikant Tiwari, says that erecting each windmill takes between three and four days at the maximum, although two days is achieved under the most favourable conditions.
Mr Tiwari confirms that the first of the cranes arrived on site late February, and second in March; following the Bauma India exhibition. The first phase of the project comprising nine turbines has been completed and the cranes have been deployed to another wind farm project which will have 63 turbines in the same area.
NBM&CW July 2011
