Project Berngerode – a very special wind farm

Right on our doorstep—extending our property—the Wiesbaden-based company ABO Wind has been building the "Berngerode" wind farm since February 2014. It will consist of 12 GE 2.5-120 turbines, each with a hub height of 139 m. The fact that this project is something truly special became apparent shortly after construction began.

The time-critical, mammoth project in a demanding topography was also going to be a challenge for us, but we mastered it despite the pressure and sometimes adverse conditions.

The extensive road construction work began in March 2014, after the final building permit was granted two weeks earlier.

Hundreds of gravel trucks were needed to build the approximately 10 km of road necessary for the development of the wind farm. In three locations, the uphill and downhill sections, with gradients of up to 20%, were paved.

Despite the developers' thorough preparations, the logistical problems could not be resolved at first. The task now involved transporting a total of 36 heavy concrete sections (weighing 25–60 tons) per tower up the mountain to the 750-ton crane stationed there, which would erect the hybrid tower (concrete and steel tower) up to the first 86 meters. Accessing the construction site with conventional heavy-duty equipment was impossible due to the inclines and the narrow forest conditions.

The solution: All delivered concrete components were unloaded on our premises at night – immediately after the arrival of the transport vehicles, which were up to 5.50 m wide – and then we transported them step by step to the individual construction sites in the forest. Since we wouldn't have been able to climb these gradients with such frequency even with a torque converter-driven tractor, we looked for a solution – and found one.

A Faun SLT "Elefant" tractor unit was quickly acquired, overhauled, converted, and put into service as an additional towing vehicle with an 8×8 drive configuration and 950 hp. Hitched to our 13-axle tractor, there was no stopping the 180-ton combination.

Once the 12 concrete towers were erected, the next step was to get the components from the turbine manufacturer GE (General Electric) "up the mountain": among other things, each turbine had three 60 m long rotor blades, two steel tower segments, and a nacelle weighing approximately 80 tons, including a low-loader weighing approximately 140 tons. Here, too, the converter-driven Faun proved to be the optimal solution. With finely controlled maneuvers yet full power, it climbed the mountains – and then back down again. The rigs easily handled total train weights of up to almost 180 tons at walking pace.

These were solutions that caused a stir across the industry, across all construction sites. With our logistics concept, we were able to make a significant contribution to the realization of the ambitious project "12 plants in less than a year." By consolidating transport capacities and unloading the components on our premises, the delivery vehicles could be unloaded immediately and then driven back to the precast plant to pick up new loads. Each individual component was punctually delivered "under the crane" or pulled there by us. There were no waiting times at all! Consolidating transport capacities reduced construction site traffic in the forest by up to 45%!

Houseboat KSEnia

Transport houseboat KSEnia ...

Hausboot KSEnia

Transport houseboat KSEnia ...

Houseboat KSEnia

Transport houseboat KSEnia ...

Houseboat KSEnia

Transport houseboat KSEnia ...

Houseboat KSEnia

Transport houseboat KSEnia ...

Houseboat KSEnia

Transport houseboat KSEnia ...

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