Video: Nabrawind unveils new wind turbine blade installation system

Spanish manufacturer Nabrawind has unveiled a new blade installation and decommissioning system that minimises the use of cranes.

It claims its BladeRunner system can reduce the cost of blade replacement by 70% compared to operations and maintenance carried out just using cranes.

The company recently successfully tested the technology at an Innovent wind farm in France.

Nabrawind, which has previously developed a self-erecting wind turbine tower, plans to make the first BladeRunner units commercially available in the first quarter of 2022.

Ion Arocena, Nabrawind’s programme manager, said the company has already received interest in the BladeRunner tool.

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How it works

The BladeRunner system, which weighs less than one tonne and can be transported by van, is first lifted up to the turbine hub from the ground via a pulley system.

It is then connected to the blade root, and can be used to detach a damaged blade from the hub. 

When carrying out decommissioning or replacing a damaged blade, the pulley system would then lower the blade vertically to the ground. A small crane is then used to lower the blade the last few metres to the ground.

With the help of the crane, the BladeRunner system then pulls up a replacement blade to the hub, so it can be attached to form a complete rotor.

The BladeRunner system is available for all blades up to 80 metres long, Nabrawind stated,

It only needs a team of four people to operate it and can replace a blade or assemble a completed rotor in three days, according to the manufacturer.

A spokesman added that using only a small crane – rather than a much larger machine – and the short installation time would help keep costs low.