Harapaki Wind Farm is now fully operational, thanks to New Zealand’s largest crane.

It took the country’s largest crane and manpower from all corners of the world to ensure the Harapaki Wind Farm is fully operational ahead of time and within budget, generating enough electricity to power most of Hawke’s Bay.

Constructed by Meridian Energy, one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest listed companies, Harapaki is New Zealand’s second-largest wind farm, boosting the country’s ability to tackle climate change and accelerate the electrification of homes, businesses and the wider economy.

The site is located next to State Highway 5, within the Maungaharuru Range near Hawke’s Bay, approximately 35 kilometres northwest of Napier, on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island.

Its 41 turbines generate 176 megawatts of renewable energy, which Meridian says is enough to power more than 70,000 average New Zealand homes.

Meridian Energy is also building new projects to stay ahead of growing demand for electricity. This will help customers reduce their emissions and ensure New Zealand has the advantages of a green economy, fuelled by renewable energy.

Meridian Energy says the completion of the Harapaki Wind Farm is an incredible result and one ideally timed for electricity consumers.

“We’re now right in the middle of winter and every bit of generation helps. Harapaki has been generating since last November and was at around 90 per cent capacity at 30 June, but reaching full capacity means this wind farm is doing everything it can to help maintain security of supply,” says Guy Waipara, General Manager Development.

Meridian says it aims to deliver seven new renewable electricity projects in New Zealand in seven years, helping the country meet its goal of transitioning to a net zero economy.

Harapaki is the first of these to be completed and was done so within the $448 million capital forecast.

“Harapaki shows we have the capability to deliver. We’ve got a world- class renewable construction team backed by a great group of contractors. What they’ve achieved in the face of COVID-19 and multiple weather events is truly outstanding,” says Guy.

Higher goals

Installing the 41 Siemens Gamesa SWT- DD-120 turbines required absolute precision – each turbine has blades around 60 metres, with a tip height of 145 metres.

To complete the task, Meridian used a Liebherr LTR11200 telescopic boom crawler crane – lifting the lift turbine components to a hub height of 85 metres, but with a capacity to go as high as 120m.

Smith Crane & Construction owns the giant Liebherr LTR 11200 1200t capacity telescopic crawler crane and others used on the project. Managing director Tim Smith said it had been a great success.

“We had 30 different nationalities working on Harapaki Wind Farm. Wind turbine work is quite specialised so there were a lot of different technical people experienced in putting them together,” he said.

Fondly called the “Praying Mantis” for its size and ability, the Liebherr LTR 11200 1200T capacity Telescopic Boom Crawler Crane is the strongest of its kind on the market and has one of the longest telescopic booms in the world.

The LTR 11200 has strong lifting capacity charts, outperforming similar large capacity mobile cranes. The 100m telescopic boom, Y-suspension, lattice fly jibs and much of the slewing platform are sourced from the LTM11200-9.1 All- Terrain crane.

Lift heights of more than 190 metres are possible with available boom attachments, including the Y-suspension system and its fixed and luffing lattice fly jibs – all helping to significantly increase lifting capacities.

Due to its high lifting capacities and variable boom options, it is well suited to a wide range of jobs in the industrial, mining, infrastructure, wind and energy sectors.

The setup time with a telescopic boom is significantly shorter than lattice boom cranes and less space is required to erect the boom.

Fewer counterweights are required in comparison to similar capacity hydraulic boom cranes, therefore reducing mobilisation costs and set up time.

The crawler track undercarriage enables the crane to reposition on site without having to derig the crane (remove attachments and counterweight). This is a significant advantage compared to large All Terrain cranes.

Its 4.8m narrow-track crawler tracks enable the crane to crawl the narrow roads found on wind farm and infrastructure sites.

The excellent stability of the crawler track undercarriage ensures the crane can travel safely on site with its working equipment in position.

During crane operation, the LTR 11200 is supported on star-pattern outriggers with an area of 13m by 13m – the outriggers enabling the crane to level itself on non-level surfaces, and to enact much lower ground-bearing pressures than a conventional crawler crane.

According to Tim, Smith Crane and Construction’s telescopic boom crawler crane is New Zealand’s largest and would cost about $20 million to buy new today.

The unit is now carrying out its next job, working on building a hangar for Air New Zealand, he added.

“It all went very smoothly, and we were pleased to have been involved,” he said.

Source: Cranes and Lifting Australia Cranes and Lifting Australia