ARES were tasked with receiving and delivering two WA wind projects at once – Yandin and also Warradarge Wind Farm, a total of 102 wind turbines. In order to handle the large volume of components coming into and going out of the Port, ARES deployed two brand new 70T reach stackers for loading operations.

The reach stackers, having great visibility and manoeuvrability, and able to relocate quickly compared with a traditional crane, proved invaluable in keeping up with the high run rate of the two combined projects, whilst managing to assist with receiving cargo from ships as well.

The blades for the Vestas V150 turbine were the longest ever transported in Australia at the time, measuring 74 metres in length.

These monster blades had to be brought through Perth’s motorway network in the middle of the night in convoys of three, usually departing around midnight and reaching site by around sunrise.  All work was done in close consultation with Main Roads WA and loads were escorted by police.

In consultation with Main Roads WA, the transport route for the Yandin wind turbine components was chosen to avoid most of the densely populated Perth metro area.

The trucks used a combination of the Tonkin, Roe, Great Northern and Brand Highways to skirt around Perth.  Later on, when the NorthLink WA Northern Section opened, that became the preferred route.

The cargo manifest for the Vestas V150 wind turbine for Yandin revealed a problem: the huge nacelle weighed much more than any other component. This would mean having to use an oversized (and more expensive) crane for offloading at port and at site.

ARES’ solution was to design and fabricate a custom set of hydraulic jacks, allowing the nacelles to be lifted on and off the trucks without the need for a crane, and saving Vestas a significant amount in site costs. Yet another example of the way we can add value to a project through our innovative thinking.