Dutch heavy transportation and lifting company ALE has lifted the second section of a telescopic tower of the first self-installing telescopic offshore wind turbine at the Arinaga port, Gran Canaria. The works are being carried out under the Horizon 2020 Elisa/Elican project, which will result in installing the structure with a 5MW wind turbine off Gran Canaria next year.
The wind turbine blades and nacelle are scheduled to be installed on top of the structure in the spring of 2018, after which the system will be towed to its designated site at sea. The floating wind turbine is expected to be operational by the end of 2018.
ALE is in charge of the engineering and performing the lifting operations for the tower and the TIM Platform, as well as the final offshore installation and ballasting operations. The company said that, due to the complexity of the project, it started planning in January 2016, before performing the tower section test lifts in November 2017.
During the project, ALE’s R&D department was tasked with developing a Wi-Fi system, enabling the manoeuvres to be performed with wireless equipment.
The Elisa/Elican project, coordinated by Esteyco within a consortium of several companies – including ALE – involves the assembly of the the entire system – including the foundation, tower and wind turbine – and its pre-commissioning under controlled conditions at the Arinaga port, after which it will be towed to its site using conventional tugs. According to the developer, this reduces the risks associated with assembly work at sea and can cut installation costs by 30% to 40% compared to existing conventional solutions.