2,000 tonne XCMG crane working in Europe

The XCMG XCC2000 telescopic boom crawler crane with narrow track width has completed its first job in Europe. It can lift 135 tonnes to a height of 160 metres. Photo: XCMG

A 2,000 tonne capacity telescopic boom crawler crane has been put to work for the first time in Europe.

The XCMG XCC2000 completed its first project, on a wind farm near Livno in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 6 December, after about ten days of work, the crane made the final lift to complete the assembly of the first of 20 turbines on the Ivovik wind farm project.

Total combined capacity of the 4.2 MW Goldwind turbines will be 84 MW. The Chinese turbines have a hub height of 100 metres and each of their three blades are 67 metres long.

The XCMG crawler crane lifts the rotor into place to complete the first turbine on the Ivovik wind farm. Photo: VEIvovik

Breaking records

At €130 million, Ivovik is the largest renewable energy generation project in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is also the largest energy project that any Chinese company has invested in, XCMG said.

At just over 1,500 metres above sea level, there were numerous challenges on the job, including strong wind and unpredictable winter weather. It placed strict requirements on the hoisting capacity, operational mobility and transport accessibility of the lifting equipment, XCMG explained.

XCMG’s XCC2000 offers a maximum telescopic boom of 81.4 metres plus a wind power boom (lattice extension) length of up to 80 metres. Loads can be hoisted to a height of 150 metres. It has a 4.5 metre-wide crawler base to track on narrow wind farm roads.

In addition to the main lift crane, XCMG supplied a pair of its 130 tonne capacity XCA130_E all terrains for auxiliary lifting duties.

“The super high reliability and micro-motion of XCMG lifting equipment assured the fast and accurate installation of the wind turbine under challenging and changeable weather conditions,” said Yang Jianjun, deputy general manager at Youtone, main contractor on the project.

The XCC2000 telescopic crawler crane with narrow track built by XCMG in China. Photo: XCMG