How to transport the long wind turbine blades up the mountain? Here comes the answer

Some time ago, a video of builders transporting 75-meter-long, 19-ton wind turbine blades up the mountain at the Sichuan Jinyang Wind Farm of Three Gorges Energy, a subsidiary of the Three Gorges Group, went viral.

In the CCTV integrated media special program "Two Sessions You and Me", CCTV News "Relativity" reporter Zhuang Shengchun interviewed Luo Tao, head of the Sichuan Jinyang wind power project of Three Gorges Energy, and Ai Hua, head of the Yunnan Mile West project of Three Gorges Energy, to reveal the story behind the "dragon tail swinging" of the wind turbines.

01 The transportation process of giant wind turbine blades is "difficult as climbing to the sky"

The video shows the construction of the largest wind power project in the southwest region, the Three Gorges Energy Sichuan Jinyang Wind Farm. The project started construction in 2021 and was completed that year.

Luo Tao introduced that the video was shot in 2021 and suddenly became popular on the Internet not long ago. What netizens saw was actually a video with the speed adjusted 10 times faster. "There is a cliff on one side of the road. It takes most of the day to walk 4 or 5 kilometers. Basically, we move forward little by little."

The wind turbine blades traveled more than 200 kilometers from Xichang, Sichuan to the construction site. During the transportation, they had to go over cliffs, pass dangerous bends, and cross winding mountains... One trip took half a month, and the process was "difficult as climbing to the sky."

When they first started transporting, Luo Tao and his colleagues were not sure about the road and got stuck when they drove in. Later, they found a way to drive anchor bars and bolts into the cliff to support the formwork, and used excavators and hammers to break the road to widen it.

In December 2021, 58 wind turbines in the Jinyang Wind Power Project in Sichuan were connected to the grid and generated 400 million kilowatt-hours of electricity. Today, Luo Tao and some of his colleagues are still at the Jinyang Wind Farm, which has an average altitude of 3,500 meters, responsible for daily maintenance.

Photos taken by Luo Tao at the wind farm

02 The 93-meter-long blade is hoisted to a height of 110 meters. The drone view is stunning.

Many netizens are curious about what the wind turbine looks like underneath. At the construction site of the Yunnan Mile West Wind Power Project of Three Gorges Energy, giant wind turbine blades are being transported. When a drone flies along the blades, the strong visual impact is shocking.

At the construction site, a main crane and an auxiliary crane are working. Ai Hua, the project leader, said that the main tower of the wind turbine is 110 meters high, equivalent to a 40-story building.

In 2013, the wind turbine blades Aihua saw were only 30 meters long. Now, the blades behind him are 93 meters long. Aihua said that as the blades get longer, the installed capacity will also increase, which can save space and reduce the floor space. "When our wind turbine station starts generating electricity, you can see it in the station. When the electricity is delivered, the joy of success fills my heart."

In 2022, the annual installed capacity of renewable energy such as hydropower, wind power, and photovoltaic power generation will reach 152 million kilowatts, setting a new historical high, accounting for 76% of the country's new installed power generation capacity. As an engineering builder, Ai Hua is extremely proud to witness the completion and commissioning of the wind power project. He also has a small goal: in the future, he plans to select some positions on the wind power project, lay lawns, plant flowers and trees, and make it a popular check-in spot to promote the development of local tourism. Netizens commented: "It's simply 'dragon wagging its tail'!", "I dare not breathe!", "I thought it was an animation special effect at first glance!", "All the construction is a success in the face of difficulties!"

After the video was released, it was sought after and reprinted by domestic and foreign media. As of now, the number of online views has reached 250 million times.