Offshore Wind Is Impressive

 

 

Musing Over The Sheer Magnitude of Offshore Wind

 

I had the chance to visit the staging yard for offshore wind – AND I was able to see the crane that will set them. 

 

Take a look for yourself.

 

 

As I said in the video, I’ve been an Ironworker for 22 years now, have always enjoyed industrial, and this, my friends, is HEAVY industrial. 

The Orion – the name of this particular crane – has an enormous capacity. According to Cranebriefing.com, “Orion carries a 5,000 tonne capacity Liebherr HLC 295000 heavy lift crane for installation of offshore wind turbines. It is Liebherr’s largest crane to date.”

Yes, you read that right: 5,000 TONS. 

Deme-group, who owns the crane, said their auxiliary crane (support crane) has a capacity of 1,500 TONS.

The largest crane I’ve worked with to date was a Manitowoc 21,000 – a 1,000-ton capacity crane. 

The Orion makes it look like a micro machine. 

 

The article also said, “the HLC 295000 offers a maximum lifting height of 175 metres and an outreach of 151 metres. One of its key features is the 16.8 metre diameter of its base column. Liebherr said this is unique in the market, maximising space on deck for storage of turbine components or allowing transport of larger pieces of decommissioned platforms.”

For clarification, 175 meters is 574 feet.

The outreach – or radius (from crane center to boom tip) 151 meters is 495 feet.

 

Why Is The Orion Here?

 

THE largest crane I’ve ever seen

 

The Orion is here because of the offshore wind farm that will be going up off the coast of Virginia Beach. Offshore wind has received a lot of attention and the push to look at more renewable energy sources is on. Offshore is particularly attractive because the turbines are bigger, generate more power, and the winds are more abundant. You can read more about offshore wind in Virginia, here.

 

Did someone say impressive?

Why yes, yes I did.

 

Follow on YouTube          Follow on Rumble