Telescoping-tower idea could lower install and maintenance costs

摘要

Today's wind farm construction calls for an expensive and costly crane with a 100m reach or more to erect the towers and then lift the heavy nacelles, hubs, and blades to the top. But if the tower could do the heavy lifting, a shorter, conventional, and less expensive crane could be used and take big bite out of project costs.Inventor and professional engineer Phillip M. Schmidt, president of Schmidt Equipment Inc,thinks his telescoping wind tower idea can lower wind-farm construction costs by up to $200,000 per turbine, and bring a range of advantages to the wind farm operations and maintenance. Power for the tower extension will be provided by compressed air and expandable seals. Schmidt says that 45 psi on a 14-ft. diameter tower is sufficient to lift 445 tons. He points out that the Grove Co.'s GTK1100 telescoping tower crane is somewhat similar in operation in that its main mast is a round telescoping structure about the same height as a turbine tower.