The European office of Erickson Air-Crane has teamed-up with Vestas Wind Systems A/S of Denmark to construct twelve new V90-3.0 3 MW wind turbine generators on ridge tops near the mountain village of Ricigliano, Italy.

The S-64F air crane flew with a 400 ft (125-meter) line to deliver 36 blades – each 144 ft (44 meters) – that will attach to the generators.  Narrow, steep cornered roads made conventional crane delivery difficult. Therefore, the air crane carried individual blades from a central staging yard approximately 9 miles (15 kilometers) to each construction site. The craft lifted 39 blades, each 15,800-lb (7,110 kg), in less than 4 days. “We worked closely with Vestas to craft a rigging system tailored to their individual blade type that provided a higher than expected level of stability and safety,” Mark Lumry, project manager for Erickson Air-Crane, said.

Vestas currently offers several wind turbine models from the 850 kW V52 to the largest model, the V90 3 MW turbine generator, which generates power for approximately 3,400 households, according to the Vestas website.

Erickson Air-Crane
www.vestas.com