Moving 148-foot long, 12-ton wind turbine blades on trucks has always represented a logistical challenge, since delivery routes must be carefully planned and approved to avoid urban rush hours, sharp curves, narrow lanes and weight-limited bridges. Siemens used railways to transfer 42 blades to Portland General Electric’s (PGE) Biglow Canyon Wind Farm in Sherman County, Ore., and the company found the entire process to run more efficiently.

“This is the first time that Siemens is transporting wind turbine blades via rail to their destination,” said Jan Kjaersgaard, CEO, Siemens Wind Power Americas. “Adding rail allows us to expand our transportation capacity and provides significant efficiency and environmental benefits compared to trucking for long-distance transports.”

In addition to blades, Siemens Energy also is transporting towers and nacelles using rail to various project locations throughout the United States

Siemens supplied 141 units, each with three blades, of its 2.3-megawatt turbines for the Biglow Canyon Wind Farm Phases 2 and 3. Once completed, PGE’s 450-MW wind farm will produce enough electricity to power 100,000 households.