Model 16000 Makes its Mark in Manitoba

Enlarge Image The Manitowoc 16000 proved invaluable on a wind turbine project in Canada.

May 22, 2006 — A Manitowoc Model 16000 recently finished assembling and installing wind turbines for Canada's largest wind farm. The crane belongs to JPW Riggers of Syracuse, New York, which bought it from local Manitowoc Crane Group dealer, Stephenson Equipment. This Model 16000 is JPW's first Manitowoc crawler in its 20-crane fleet.

 

The 440-ton (U.S.) Model 16000 was delivered late in 2005 and sent immediately to the wind turbine jobsite, close to the city of St. Leon, Manitoba, Canada, where it worked for a number of months for Canadian contractor HB White Canada, a subsidiary of White Construction, based in Clinton, Ind.

 

Manitowoc Crane CARE engineers were present to ensure assembly went smoothly on the Manitoba jobsite. The Model 16000 erected a total of eight 262-ft-tall wind turbine generators, each weighing 250-ton in total. The heaviest lift was the wind turbines' 51-ton nacelle. In order to erect the towers, the Model 16000 was configured with 226-ton of counterweight, a 295-ft boom, plus an additional 23 ft of extended upper boom point.

 

Total cost of the wind farm amounts to $161 million. When operational, the turbines will provide 99 MW of electricity • enough to power 35,000 homes. The project's main contractor, HB White Canada, has been so pleased with the Model 16000's performance in Manitoba that it has selected Model 16000 cranes for future wind farm work in Ontario, Canada. JPW Riggers, meanwhile, has received numerous requests for its own Model 16000's services to such an extent that the company has placed an order for a new unit, which will be delivered in October 2006.