Frodsham Wind Farm will take its first police-escorted delivery of giant 45m turbine blades today.
The largest components of the build, they promise to be quite a sight as they are transported to Frodsham from the Port of Liverpool today, Tuesday (April 12).
This means using the M57, M62 and M56 , but the delivery will be made outside peak time to try to avoid disruption and delays for drivers.
Developers Peel Energy have said a further three blades will be escorted each day through to Friday.
Development director at Peel Energy Jonathan England said: “Being able to make such extensive use of the motorway network is ideal.
“These roads regularly handle large loads from the Port of Liverpool and will allow us to get nearly all the way to our site without touching the local road network.
“We’ve worked hard on the transportation scheduling to ensure that there will be minimal disruption to road users during this phase of Frodsham Wind Farm’s development.”
Cheshire Police are providing escort vehicles for the operation, with Collett and Sons Ltd taking charge of the delivery.
All of the components for the 19 wind turbines planned for the Frodsham site will be transported from the Port of Liverpool over the next 15 weeks.
But only the blades, which have been built and supplied by German engineering company Nordex, will need an escort.
Related: Frodsham wind farm recognised for commitment to protecting wildlife
Peel Ports sales manager Ashley Piper, said: “After months of planning, it’s excellent to see this project becoming a reality.
“It demonstrates how the Port of Liverpool and Manchester Ship Canal is equipped to handle such significant loads and provide excellent accessibility to the road network, with 10 motorways within 10 miles.
“This, coupled with our expertise, has helped to make this project a success.”
Related: Updated plans for £170m Ince energy park revealed
Construction of Frodsham Wind Farm began a year ago this month and Peel say the site will provide 50MW of clean energy once it is up and running.
A controversial development when it was approved, views remain split on how the £3m community benefit fund provided by the developer should be spent.
What do you think of this story? Let us know in the comments below.
