The world’s heaviest wheeled crane has completed its first lift at a wind farm in Yingkou, in China’s south–central Liaoning Province.
The XCA3000, which is made by state-owned company XCMG, has a 3,000 tonne lifting capacity. In Yingkou, it hoisted a 25 tonne, 95m-long wind turbine blade to a height of 107m. The blade was then docked onto the hub and fixed in place.
The crane was working on the Dashiqiao Xintai 200MW facility, managed by China Energy Engineering Group.
The XCA3000 is specifically designed to hoist wind turbines and is able to install a nacelle – the element of the machine that contains the generating components – inside 30 minutes. And if deployed on a 10MW turbine, the XCA3000 could hoist 190 tonnes 160m high.
XCMG says wind farm operators are evolving towards larger, heavier and bigger turbines, and it has aimed to address issues such as lifting at high altitudes.
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