Collett has completed the UK’s first dual blade lifter convoy operation during deliveries to the Sanquhar II Wind Farm, deploying its new Goldhofer blade lifter alongside an existing Scheuerle unit to transport wind turbine blades through challenging access routes.
The operation marked the first project deployment of Collett’s newly acquired Goldhofer blade lifter and forms part of the company’s continued investment in specialist heavy transport equipment. Once complete, Collett will have delivered 480 wind turbine components for the 44 turbine development, including 42 Vestas V162 turbines fitted with 80 metre blades and two V136 turbines with 68 metre blades.
The blades were initially transported from King George V Dock in Glasgow to a transition point near the site using extendable blade trailers before being transferred onto the blade lifters using Kalmar reach stackers fitted with specialist lifting hooks. This eliminated the need for a mobile crane, improving efficiency during the transfer process.
For the final stage of the journey, the blade lifters raised the blades to angles of up to 60 degrees, allowing the transport teams to negotiate narrow villages, tight bends and other restricted sections of the route safely.
The dual convoy operated with two specialist trailers and 12 operators, while Collett’s consulting team completed detailed route surveys and swept path analysis before mobilisation to identify any required infrastructure modifications.
Paul Worth, Senior Project Manager at Collett, said, “The introduction of a second blade lifter has enabled us to increase blade delivery capacity during this phase of the project while maintaining the established transport methodology. Every movement still follows the same detailed planning process and operational controls required to transport blades of this size through a constrained route.”
The Sanquhar II Wind Farm project is scheduled for completion in 2027.
