This infrastructure, the tallest in Limburg at 234 meters high, will generate 10,500 MW/h of renewable energy annually.
Sarens, world leader and reference in heavy lifting, engineered transport and crane rental services, has participated in this project by unloading, assembling and installing the three lower sections of the tower, as well as lifting the upper parts of the turbine and the blades.
The CO₂ emissions avoided by the wind turbine are equivalent to taking 2,400 diesel cars off the road.
The new wind turbine installed at the BESIX Infra facility in Bilzen, Belgium, will be able to produce clean energy enough to cover the annual consumption of 3,200 households, preventing the generation of approximately 4,800 tons of CO₂ emissions. That is equivalent to taking some 2,400 diesel cars off the road.
Sarens, world leader in heavy lifting, engineered transport and crane rental services, was in charge of unloading, assembling and installing the three lower tower sections in this project, using a CC3800 crane in two configurations: LSL15 and LSL+LF14. The team reconfigured afterwards the crane in the LSL+LF14 configuration to lift the upper turbine sections and blades.
Before installing the wind turbine, Sarens helped unload and assemble the tower parts, the heaviest of which weighed 118 tons. In total, the team performed 12 lifts, eight of them with superlift. The crane had to slew and crawl during most of the lifts, but the team had the advantage of working on a mostly open job site.
This new wind turbine, which has a generation capacity of 4.2 MW, is part of the Zuidwind project, which aims to expand the number of wind turbines in the Genk-Zuid industrial zone and accelerate the energy transition of the local industry. Its installation has already been a major first step towards this goal, as it will generate 10,500 MW/h of renewable energy per year, a significant amount that will help both the industrial sector and the surrounding residential areas to benefit from green energy, as it will provide the 20% of its generation to the local energy grid.
Project manager Matthias Raeyen commented on the difficulties Sarens faced: "There were some delays in the delivery of the blades and another two weeks of weather delays, but thanks to the support of the team members, both on site and in the office, and good cooperation with the client, we managed to install the wind turbine and successfully complete the project".
Sarens has extensive experience in the lifting, transportation and installation of turbines for windfarms around the world. Also in Belgium, Sarens installed six new wind turbines at the Siemens Gamesa facilities located in the municipalities of Gesves and Ohey. In Belarus, in sub-zero temperatures, Sarens installed the tallest Vestas wind turbines in Asmolovichi. At the Glenn Innes wind farm in New South Wales, Sarens installed the tallest wind turbine towers in Australia.
About Sarens
Sarens is the global leader and reference in crane rental, heavy lift and engineered transportation services. With state-of-the-art equipment, value engineering, one of the world's largest inventories of cranes, transporters and special rigging equipment, Sarens offers creative and intelligent solutions to today's heavy lifting and engineering transport challenges.
With more than 100 entities in 65 countries operating without borders, Sarens is an ideal partner for small to large-scale projects. Sarens currently employs 4,543 highly qualified professionals who are ready to serve the needs of any client worldwide and in all market sectors. https://www.sarens.com/