Oversize turbine tower part gets jammed under bridge en route to wind project

A section of wind turbine tower being trucked to the Wambo wind farm in Queensland’s Western Downs region has become wedged under a bridge west of Brisbane after the oversized cargo proved too big to pass safely under it.

Queensland government-owned energy generator Stanwell Corporation confirmed to Renew Economy on Friday that the 2.30am accident involved a component being transported to the Wambo project, which it is co-developing with Cubico Sustainable Investments.

A statement on Facebook from Queensland Police said the incident had temporarily closed westbound lanes of the Warrego Highway in Ipswich and the Mount Crosby Bridge – which took the impact from the turbine part – was expected to be closed in both directions “for an extended period of time.”

The driver of the truck is uninjured.

Image source: Facebook

Wambo wind farm is being developed in two stages, with a 252MW first stage well under construction and works for a 254.2MW second stage slated to get underway later this year. Electricity from the huge project expected to start powering Queensland homes as early as 2026.  

The two stages of the wind farm are backed by a total by $455.8 million from the former Labor Palaszczuk government’s Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund for Stanwell’s 50% share in the project, which may also include a 40MW/200MWh big battery.

As Renew Economy has reported, the 42 Vestas turbines being installed for stage one of Wambo are some of the largest yet installed in Australia, at 247m tall.

That said, huge, oversized turbine parts for the project have been making their way to the site for some time, now, without incident, so it is unclear at this stage why this particular delivery of this particular tower component ran into trouble.

The turbine parts are being transported to the project site by logistics company Qube and every oversize delivery to the Wambo project – including the load involved in the accident – is escorted by the Queensland police.

Wambo Wind Farm said on Thursday in an emailed statement that is was supporting the relevant authorities as they investigate the circumstances surrounding the event.

“Safety is our highest priority, and we expect all contractors working on our projects to uphold the strictest safety and compliance standards,” a spokesperson for the project said.

“As investigations are ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”