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XCMG sets wind power hoisting height record

XCMG says it has set a new world record after its XGC15000A 1,000-ton crawler crane completed its first single-arm wind power hoisting operation at a height of 172+12 metres for the Jinjiaozhou wind power farm in Qingdao, China.

Weighing in at 118 tons, the 4.5-megawatt wind power turbine was hoisted to a record-setting height of 170 metres with the diameter of the impeller reaching 156 metres.

It adopts the prestressed fatigue resistant framed steel pipe wind power tower that greatly increases the height of the wind turbine when compared with the common 120 to 140 metre flexible tower in the industry, which better utilizes wind resources and increases power generation efficiency.

However, the higher installation height posed greater challenges for the crawler crane.

The flat and open project site usually experiences strong wind greater than Level 5, and the construction team quickly completed the operation during a short “wind-free” timeframe, thanks to the powerful and stable performance of the XGC15000A.

“The tower height at this wind farm will reach 180 metres or even above 200 metres, and facing these challenges, we found that XCMG had already taken everything into consideration. We believe XCMG can fully meet our needs in the future,” said Di Caijin, who was responsible for the on-site hoisting operation.

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The successful installation makes the XGC15000A the world’s first wind power crawler crane to achieve a hoisting height of 170 metres.

China has pledged to reach carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, and according to the latest analysis from Wood Mackenzie, the country is expected to reach 700 GW of cumulative connected wind capacity by 2030 and annual wind and photovoltaic installed capacity needs will reach 100- to 200 million kilowatts, which calls for more wind power projects to be developed at lower costs.

XCMG delivers massive reach stacker

In February, XCMG delivered China’s largest tonnage wind power reach stacker, XCS70S, which was co-developed and customized by XCMG and CRRC Zhuzhou Institute Wind Power Business Unit.

With a rated load of 70 tons, the product has a much broader range of applications and was designed for the hoisting operations of large-scale wind turbines and equipment. It is equipped with exclusive spreaders that increase hoisting and handling efficiency three-fold.