Battery-powered Geda lift targets wind turbines

Geda has launched a battery-powered personnel and materials lift to provide access to wind turbines during construction and as a permanent hoist on the finished structure.

The SH 250 W lift is a rack and pinion hoist with a capacity of 250kg and can carry two people. Maximum height is 210m and top lift speed is 24m/min.

Geda said conventional rope lifts can only be installed when a tower is fully erected, while the SH 250 can be installed at the start of construction using ladder sections with a rack-and-pinion system.

Geda’s battery powered wind turbine lift, the SH 250 W. (Image: Geda)

The German manufacturer said the lift had been developed in response to increasing heights of modern wind turbines, which places increasing demands on transport systems.

Managing high deflections

One of these demands is higher deflections, which can reach ±2m at heights of 200m. GEDA said rope lifts can reach their technical limits at these heights, with tower vibrations potentially damaging or entangling ropes.

“The battery-powered rack-and-pinion lift avoids these inherent drawbacks”, said the OEM.

“Particularly when dealing with larger hub heights, this solution becomes increasingly attractive from both an economic and technical perspective in the long term.”

The hoist comes with an online remote maintenance system, a touchscreen display in the lift car, and image-based fault diagnosis.

Operators and service teams can remotely check that the lift is in working order before it is used.