The Stetson II Wind Project is racing to an early completion despite the challenging winter conditions in northern Maine. Reed & Reed crews and a team of outstanding subcontractors have braved heavy snow, temperatures routinely below zero and winds reaching 70 mph to build the 25.5 mw project. Stetson II is an expansion of the adjacent 57 mw Stetson I project that Reed & Reed completed in January, 2009. The company has built both projects under EPC contracts.
The foundation crew placed over 2,600 CY of concrete in the 17 foundations. Six of the foundations are gravity type and eleven are anchored pads. Under a fast-track schedule, Reed & Reed crews quickly transitioned into tower erection mode using the company’s two new Manitowoc M-16000 440-ton cranes to erect the towers and turbines. Setting bases in grout in January is completely different from the summer-time turbine erection. The crew must first heat the foundation to over 50°, along with the water and grout mix. At the same time, it is necessary to heat and keep the lower part of 111,000 lb tower section heated to over 50°. Our electrical subcontractor installed almost 10 miles of collector system cable on top of the existing Stetson I collector system during a 2-week shutdown of that wind farm. Precise planning and execution was critical to complete this work safely and on time.
Despite weather conditions and short winter days, Reed & Reed and our subcontractors have completed nearly 100,000 work hours without a lost time injury. |
