Another record claimed for 4,000 tonne crane

Inserting one of the three 126 metre rotor blades. Photo: XCMG

A 4,000 tonne capacity lattice boom crawler crane from XCMG in China has broken another lifting record, according to the manufacturer.

The XGC88000, now with a luffing jib, was used to lift an 18 MW wind turbine weighing nearly 800 tonnes. It was the crane’s first lift working in the offshore wind energy industry. The lift took place at a cogeneration power plant in the coastal city of Yingkou in China’s northeastern Liaoning Province.

Big numbers

The offshore turbine had a hub height of 145 metres and it was nearly 270 metres from the ground to the utmost tip of the rotor. At its peak the 18 MW turbine can generate 44 kWh of electricity per revolution, XCMG said. Its 74 million kWh annual generating capacity is enough for 40,000 households. Using the wind in this way saves about 25,000 tonnes of coal and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by around 60,000 tonnes.

In addition to the weight of the load, top challenges on the project were the height of the lift and the precision required for accurate placement atop the tower. A further critical element of the operation was to install the three rotor blades, each 126 metres long. Precision was key there too, with more than 170 bolts needing to be inserted into their corresponding holes in the hub at close to 150 metres in the air. All that while also having to deal with gusts of wind.