|
News & Events:
What's New
With 150cm of snow at Grouse Mountain the project site of The Eye of the Wind has evolved into something very different. The white steel tower, viewPOD and blades are nearly camouflaged in their snowy surroundings. Access to the site is a large challenge as our team relies on snowmobiles and snowcats. The electrical control building of the structure is now full of the necessary gear that allows us to bring electricity from the generator into our local grid. We will complete the connections and testing of this gear over the next few weeks. Inside of the tower the elevator installation is progressing well. We have a near-complete elevator cab and elevator rails that go as high as 40 metres – two thirds of the way up the 65 metre tower. Still lots of work to do before the holiday season begins.
The Eye of the Wind blades are in motion – somewhat. The post-assembly mechanical work is complete and those with keen eyes will notice that the blades are now spinning freely with the wind at a very slow pace. Though the blades are in motion, the system is not producing any electricity as we still have a few months of electrical work to do before the generator will be connected to our grid in January 2010. Once connected, the blades will be angled in the most optimal direction to the wind which will provide enough force to spin the blades at their top speed of 260km/h at the tips. In the meantime, the elevator installation is in full force.
The site of The Eye of the Wind has been buzzing the past two weeks as we continue with the post-assembly of the wind turbine. Some guests have asked us why the blades are not spinning yet. The brakes are currently activated on the blades as we finish commissioning the mechanical works. In the meantime, we’ve been accessing the tower shaft to complete a long list of electrical work. This week, the elevator installation kicked off and is slowly starting to take shape inside the tower. The Eye of the Wind will be fully operational in January 2010.
Today was an unforgettable day. It marked the completion of construction on the Eye of the Wind energy tower at Grouse Mountain and has forever changed the face of alternative, clean energy in British Columbia. We have worked long and hard towards this day and there is a degree of emotion attached to witnessing the structure complete. We have a way to go before it is fully operational and guest accessible, but the completion of the structure solidifies this amazing project as a reality to all of us.
Stay tuned for more updates on the progress concerning elevator installation and readiness for energy production. Thanks to all for your support and enthusiasm. We'll see you in the ViewPod very soon...
Our wind turbine reached new heights today as the third tower section was lifted into place. Next, the ViewPod – our custom built observation deck - was lifted to its new home looking out over Vancouver. The ViewPod is the only structure of its kind in the world – a true engineering marvel. It is seven metres in diameter, over 30,000lbs, and offers a 360 degree view of the Lower Mainland, surrounding mountains and the operating wind turbine. The last stage for today was to lift the machine carrier (some call it the nacelle) to the very top of the tower. The machine carrier allows the blade assembly to rotate about the tower and supports the generator, hub and three turbine blades. With the machine carrier in place, the tower has now reached its final 65 metres in height.
Tomorrow, the construction continues.
Today assembly of the Grouse Mountain Turbine officially began. This morning, drivers along the Second Narrow’s Bridge may have noticed the first tower section upright on the top of Peak. We had some challenges bringing the section up Heaven’s Sake ski run because of the sheer weight. The construction crew worked seamlessly to lift the first section into the air, lower it gently in place and bolt it to the foundation. This concrete foundation is installed on bedrock and has 15-metre deep rock-anchors. Next, the middle tower section was lifted and secured into place on top of the first. So we now have a 40 metre tall white tower on our mountain. Assmebly will continue tomorrow.
Photo: Devin Manky
The middle and upper tower sections slowly crawled to the top of Grouse Mountain this morning via our back Mountain Highway. This means all components for the wind turbine are officially sitting ready on our mountain. The tower sections will not be brought to the actual project site until a few moments before they are actually erected into place. This is necessary because the project site has an exceptionally small footprint and can only handle so much gear at one time – just one of the many challenges associated with constructing a wind turbine on a mountain top. Today the crane assembly was completed and final preparation work is in motion. We are hoping for sunny skies this week.
For more images from the trek up Mountain Highway, visit our Wind Turbine Flickr Set.
 Since the base tower section arrived at Grouse Mountain on Friday, it’s been getting a bit of a makeover. Our electricians have been busy installing cables while our millwrights have been installing more gear for the elevator that will be installed inside the tower. Tonight, the middle and top tower sections will be catching up as they travel from a lot in Surrey up to our back road off of Mountain Highway. The project site is looking different, too, as the LR1280 crane is almost completely assembled. Meanwhile, the Construction Supervisors arrived yesterday from Italy and are busy getting all the final details in place.
 Last night starting at 2am the turbine tower base section traversed from the US Border through Vancouver, Port Moody and North Vancouver to reach Grouse Mountain’s back road off of Mountain Highway. This over-sized load is a hollow steel cylinder, 20 metres wide and 4 metres across. It required a specialized Schnable trailer to give maximum flexibility for making turns and overcoming inclines. We only had to disassemble three road signs which were replaced immediately. Today the tower section will travel up the 13km gravel road on the back side of Grouse Mountain. Meanwhile, the installation crew will be arriving from Italy tomorrow to prepare for construction next week.
Today the first and largest part of the LR1280 crane that will erect our wind turbine reached the project site at the Peak of Grouse Mountain. It was a difficult ascent up the steepest incline of Heaven’s Sake ski run but with some extra care it made it to the top. This crane from DLB Cranes Ltd based in North Vancouver is a monster – it can lift 300 tons and has a 90 metre boom. Even more good news, the base section of our tower crossed into Canada this morning from Washington State and will start it’s trek through Vancouver and up the mountain at 2am tonight.
Even more crates arrived at Grouse Mountain today. This time, the huge wooden crates contain the generator, hub and machine carrier (or nacelle) of the project. These components travelled by freighter from Italy. They are going to be kept in a safe place on our mountain top and won’t be opened until a few days before we start construction.
The crew started unpacking the crates of the ViewPod today and assembling the quadrants. It already looks incredible. A Supervisor from Sigma in France arrived to help guide the assembly. It’s a lot more work than one might think. A small temporary foundation and structural tower was built to elevate the ViewPod as it is being put together. The zip-liners who walk by the site at the end of their circuit are starting to ask questions and it’s great to hear everyone’s support as they learn more about the project. In a few days the main shell of the ViewPod will be done and then it will be time for the finer details. This project is truly starting to take shape.
 All the sections of the innovative wind turbine observation pod, or viewPod, arrived in North Vancouver from their origin in France, and the parts were driven to the summit this morning. The viewPod will be able to hold a capacity of up to 36 people, and is composed of structural steel and glass. With a diameter of seven metres and standing more than five metres in height, the 15-ton structure was designed and fabricated by Sigma Composite. The viewPod was transported in sections via ship to Montreal, followed by truck transport to North Vancouver. The viewPod is a unique engineering marvel that will, as an integral piece of the finished structure, serve to inspire, educate and exhilarate anyone who sees it. Once all the respective parts come together, the viewPod will undoubtedly provide an exciting and powerful visitor experience.
 Work on the Grouse Mountain Wind Turbine is moving fast. Today we had a chance to zip down to Anacortes, Washington, where the structural tower of the wind turbine is being manufactured. As is typical, the tower is built in three sections, each just over 20 metres long. Our custom built tower is the first in the world designed to support a publicly-accessible elevator. There’s still a fair amount of work to do, but it was very satisfying to see the sections in person. However, experiencing how truly big these components are has reminded us of the challenge we’ll have bringing them up to Grouse Mountain (no helicopters for these guys – they’re too heavy).
 Today was an exciting day.
As you have probably heard, Grouse Mountain is building an iconic wind turbine. Today, three 37 metre long turbine blades arrived on the mountaintop. These blades - the first of the wind turbine project components - arrived from Denmark by sea last week, before journeying aboard a barge through Indian Arm overnight, and followed by a novel helicopter lift from barge to mountaintop earlier today.
The Erickson S-64E air-crane, one of the most powerful and versatile helicopters in the world, delivered each of the 12,000 lbs blades to their new home 1,250 metres above sea level as part of a concerted effort bolstered by ideal weather conditions.
Blue Grouse, our sustainability initiative that birthed the wind turbine project at Grouse Mountain, is our social, economic, and environmental commitment that informs all of our decision-making and policy development. Grouse Mountain’s Wind Revolution is a renewable energy movement symbolic of this leadership stance in sustainability.
To see more photos from today's airlift, visit our Wind Turbine Flickr Set.
 Last night the three blades for the Grouse Mountain Wind Turbine reached Canada via the Fraser Surrey Docks. These massive 37 metre long blades travelled by freighter for six weeks starting in Denmark. It looked as if everyone was surprised by how big they really are. Today, the blades were carefully unloaded from the freighter and placed directly onto a barge. The blades are now sitting side by side on the same barge while they get equipped with the proper supports to allow them to be air-lifted to the Peak of Grouse Mountain in the coming week. But, we’ll have to wait for a nice clear and calm day for this part of the journey.
|
|
