Shallow waters, fast power

In 2008, Canadian Hydro Developers constructed a wind farm on Wolfe Island. A natural place for wind energy, as the island is very windy and located nearby a high-voltage power grid.

At 197.8 megawatts, it would be the largest in Canada at that time. Mammoet was asked to transport, erect and install 86 Siemens wind turbines. However, there was no suitable port facility to accept ships with turbine cargo as the water around Wolfe Island was relatively shallow. And this was only one of three challenges Mammoet was facing.

Because of the shallow water, all cargo needed to be received elsewhere at a deep water port, stored, re-loaded, and then transported to Wolfe Island using shallow-draft barges and tugs. There, it would be unloaded at a custom-built Ro-Ro quay. Another challenge was posed by the installation schedule that demanded the arrival of one complete turbine per day.

Fitting all components on one barge was a challenge, but Mammoet engineers found a way to drive and position nine loaded trailers onto narrow river barges without ballasting. Last but not least, the necessary cranes were too big for the relatively small roads on the island. To avoid having to widen those roads, additional problem-solving was needed.

"A single contractor and simplified logistics optimize wind farm’s installation, saving time and money." Wolfe Island wind Ontario, Canada.

First, Mammoet received, unloaded, and stored about 1,000 individual components at the Port of Ogdensburg. From there, the equipment was reloaded onto barges for its final 100-kilometer trip. On Wolfe Island, Mammoet designed and constructed a Ro-Ro quay allowing the barges to be unloaded at a rate of one barge per day.

Upon the arrival of each barge, the turbine components were moved to another staging area on the island. To avoid having to widen the roads on Wolfe Island, Mammoet deployed either cranes that required less than half the road width compared to regular cranes, or transported them to the site, using hydraulic transporters, small enough for the narrow roads.

For the customer, using a single contractor meant less equipment, better utilization and an optimized schedule. Mammoet delivered engineering intelligence, installation professionals and dedicated equipment to this project. Now completed, this wind farm generates approximately 594 gigawatt hours of renewable power each year. Mammoet coordinated and executed the entire process, greatly simplifying logistics, providing safety, and saving our customer time and money.