Kostolac wind farm

The challenge

Demanding energy project

A large wind energy job took the yellow team to Kostolac in Serbia. There, 20 wind turbines were installed, which will provide 66 megawatts of power once they are up and running. Thanks to the Prangl employees’ many years of experience in the wind power sector, they were the first choice when contracting out this demanding energy project.

Our solution

650-tonne crawler crane

In the east of Serbia, in Kostolac, a former coal district will be used to obtain environmentally friendly energy: By erecting a wind farm, the national energy provider has started the green revolution and wants to increase the number of renewable energy sources in the future. The turbines in the new wind farm are each 114 metres high and have a rated output of up to 3.65 MW. Prangl provided the devices that were tailored to this building site to erect the 20 wind turbines. A 650 tonne crawler crane played the most important role.

Tower sections lifted in tandem

Thanks to its specifications, this crawler crane is able to move and lift all components and also to lift at a smaller radius than other cranes. Five tower segments, the nacelle, hub and drive train, as well as three vanes had to be installed for each wind turbine. The first step was to erect the tower. A 200 tonne telescopic crane was provided as support for this work. Together with the 200-tonner, the 650-tonne giant lifted the tower sections (each weighing 90.5 tonnes, 82.1 tonnes, 62.5 tonnes, 53.9 tonnes and 50.5 tonnes) in tandem.

Power saves time

The next step was to install the drive train and the hub on the ground using the 200-tonne auxiliary crane. Prangl’s strong crane (equipped with LSL+LF 8 up to 117 metres + 12 metres, 225 tonne main counterweights, 50 tonne central counterweights, 165 tonne SL counterweights) was then used to lift the drive train and the hub together. This lifting process weighed 107 tonnes. As the crawler crane is able to lift this type of weight, you save several hours of work during installation on every turbine.

65 metre rotor blades

The nacelle weighing 91.8 and with dimensions of 12.5 x 4.2 x 4.2 metres was next, followed by the individual rotor blades with a length of almost 65 metres each and a weight of 32.5 tonnes each. After completing each individual turbine, the main crane was moved from site to site using an additional 90-tonne telescopic crane. Both the people and the machines performed their work outstandingly. Once the Kostolac wind farm is open, these turbines will be the most powerful in the country.