Manufacturing and assembly of the main components of a wind power facility take place in the factories of the suppliers and the following components are typically then shipped to the site:
- foundation anchors or tubes
• three – four tubular tower sections
• ground controller and switch gear
• fully assembled nacelle
• hub and rotor blades
• wind farm Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system (SCADA)
• pad-mount transformers
While awaiting shipment of wind turbines from the factory, the following site preparation begins: civil engineering, including access roads, turbine foundations, substation, and electrical infrastructure. put
Wind turbines are large and heavy so suitable site access for transport is required. Heavy lifting equipment is used on site. A crane is used for hoisting the tower sections, nacelle and rotor into position. (Note: The assembled nacelle includes several components: the turbine bed plate, gearbox, generators, yaw mechanism, main shaft, converter and sometimes the transformer).
From the time the materials are delivered to the site to the date of commercial operations ranges from 6-9 months for a typical U.S. project.