HIGH-QUALITY
LOW-COST
SAFE & RELIABLE

Locally-manufactured Turbine Anchor Cages

The Murra Warra Wind Farm will play a key role in Australia’s renewable energy future. Constructed on a 4,250-hectare site some 25km north of Horsham in Victoria, Murra Warra is the first large-scale wind farm to be constructed in the Wimmera. Once complete, it will be home to 99 turbines, capable of generating 435mw.

Allthread Industries delivered a wind tower anchor cage solution for the 38 turbines installed during stage two of the project.

THE CHALLENGE

Murra Warra II features 38 General Electric (GE) Cypress 5.5-158 wind turbines—one of the quietest systems in its class designed to operate at low to high wind speeds.

Given the size, scale and weight of the turbines, a robust anchor cage solution was required; and the expertise of Allthread Industries was the expert team at Allthread Industries were able to assist.

1

The Foam Ingots

Non bio-degradable and high-cost foam ingots were used traditionally. They are large, very expensive and non-biodegradable. And predominantly made overseas.

2

The Cost Comparison

The cost comparison had to encompass not only the cost of the steel but the cost of getting it to the site. Destuffing the container, assembling the parts, having workers on-site for longer. Also, the cost involved in.

3

The Risk to Worker Safety

With the installation of 176 bolts required, the risk to worker safety was quite high due to uneven ground. Manual handling is always the biggest cause of injury on site.

4

Overseas Competitors

It is common to compete with overseas suppliers. Oversea suppliers may offer cheap quotes, but their solutions are limited in value and innovation.

THE SOLUTION

Allthread Industries were able to provide an Australian-made solution with preassembled Allthread anchor cages, which each took around 90 minutes to construct on-site.

All work was turned around accurately and quickly because of Allthread’s state-of-the-art 24-hour manufacturing facility in Sydney.

1

The Foam Ingots Solution

Allthread Industries investigated a more environmentally friendly alternative with metal reusable rings.

Not only did these eradicate the environmental impacts, but they also gave the benefit of being able to assemble the anchor cages in the factory and then shipping them to the site on the back of a truck.

2

The Cost Comparison Solution

Allthread Industries was able to provide a quote that encompassed the cost of the steel plate and bolts finished and in the ground.

The total cost to buy and install anchor cages using Allthread Industries Australian-made anchors plus site labour costs was cheaper than using imported anchor cages plus site labour costs.

3

The Risk to Worker Safety Solution

Allthread Industries designed a method to remove all the components off the truck without anyone having to get on it. This removed the risk of injury to workers.

As a result, there was not a single recorded safety incident during the construction of the anchor cages. We solved a lot of problems regarding safety on-site by using pre-slung loads.

4

Overseas Competitors Solution

Allthread Industries provided a unique solution that is better, safer, cheaper, and more reliable than imported solutions.

Anchor cage supply chain was 97% supplied and manufactured from raw materials here in Australia.

THE OUTCOME

Allthread can supply locally-manufactured turbine anchor cages that are cheaper, safer, better quality and more reliable than imported solutions.

• Non bio-degradable foam ingots were not used and thus did not have to go into land fill

• Grout pocket forming rings were recycled back to BlueScope at the end of the installation project

• Anchor cage supply chain was 97% supplied and manufactured from raw materials here in Australia

• During anchor cage installation, there were zero injuries and zero safety incidents for all 38 tower anchors installed

• Time to install anchor was 90 minutes using two site personnel plus crane, compared to conventional method which takes two days with six site personnel

• Even though the project started two weeks late due to circumstance out of our control, the anchor cage installation was still completed two weeks ahead of the original schedule date

• Total cost to buy and install anchor cages using Allthread Industries Australian made anchors site labour, was cheaper than imported anchor cages including site labour costs