Crookwell 2 Wind Farm

Hauling a new generation of wind
turbines back to where it all began
for the NSW wind industry.

The Crookwell 2 Wind Farm consisted of 28 GE Renewables 3.4-130 wind turbine generators, situated near Goulburn in New South Wales. ARES transported all wind turbine components from the Port of Port Kembla to site, a distance of 189km one way.

What a difference 20 years makes.

Crookwell 2 Wind Farm is adjacent to Crookwell Wind Farm – the first operational wind farm in New South Wales, commissioned in 1998. The new turbines dwarf the old, at more than double the height (95m vs 45m), with blades triple the size (64m vs 20m), and with a nacelle 5 times as heavy (100T vs 20T).

All of which means that transporting wind turbines is becoming more and more challenging with time – a challenge we at ARES are more than happy to take on!

Hauling in the Dark.

Due to their size and nature, many of the oversized turbine components were required to be transported during the night.  This included going through the sizeable town of Goulburn in the early hours of the morning.  Police escorts were on hand to manage traffic at intersections, and pilot cars were positioned strategically ahead of and behind the loads to warn local traffic.

What a difference 20 years makes.

Crookwell 2 Wind Farm is adjacent to Crookwell Wind Farm – the first operational wind farm in New South Wales, commissioned in 1998. The new turbines dwarf the old, at more than double the height (95m vs 45m), with blades triple the size (64m vs 20m), and with a nacelle 5 times as heavy (100T vs 20T).

All of which means that transporting wind turbines is becoming more and more challenging with time – a challenge we at ARES are more than happy to take on!

Hauling in the Dark.

Due to their size and nature, many of the oversized turbine components were required to be transported during the night.  This included going through the sizeable town of Goulburn in the early hours of the morning.  Police escorts were on hand to manage traffic at intersections, and pilot cars were positioned strategically ahead of and behind the loads to warn local traffic.

Flattering Figures

Here’s a high level look at what we were able to achieve on this project:

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GE Wind Turbines 

Each turbine stands 160m tall (base to tip), has 4 tower sections and produces 3.4MW of green power.

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Longest Component

These were the turbine blades, which were carried to site on our special telescopic trailers.

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KM’s to Site

The journey took around 4-5 hours, including slowdowns and fatigue breaks.

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Total Deliveries

These include turbine components, towers, blades, transformers and containers.

The Route

The Road well Travelled

The transport route from Port Kembla to site was quite straightforward, using the route taken by many other wind farms already built in the region – namely Picton Rd out of Wollongong, then Hume Fwy to Goulburn, navigating a few tricky corners through Goulburn and finally onto the two site entrances on Goulburn-Crookwell and Woodhouselee Rds. 

Weathering Adversity

Fogging Hell

Transport took place mainly during the winter months, which are well known to be wet, windy, frosty and foggy, especially early in the morning. It was a common sight for our drivers to arrive on site with heavy fog and have to move at crawling pace or even park up until conditions improved.

The experience of our team of drivers and pilots was key to overcoming this obstacle without incident, with patience, good communication and situational awareness all contributing to our success.

The Route

The Road well Travelled

The transport route from Port Kembla to site was quite straightforward, using the route taken by many other wind farms already built in the region – namely Picton Rd out of Wollongong, then Hume Fwy to Goulburn, navigating a few tricky corners through Goulburn and finally onto the two site entrances on Goulburn-Crookwell and Woodhouselee Rds. 

Weathering Adversity

Fogging Hell

Transport took place mainly during the winter months, which are well known to be wet, windy, frosty and foggy, especially early in the morning. It was a common sight for our drivers to arrive on site with heavy fog and have to move at crawling pace or even park up until conditions improved.

The experience of our team of drivers and pilots was key to overcoming this obstacle without incident, with patience, good communication and situational awareness all contributing to our success.