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Energy from the air of Teruel
Operation of the installation of a blade in a new wind turbine of the Muniesa wind farm.
Jose María looks at the sky, but not to see the weather – he has already been watching that for many days, because his work depends on it. He is looking at the sky because the imposing crane in front of him is lifting one of the 75-metre-long, 23-tonne blades that will crown the wind turbine he is building.
A worker finishes up the final details of the operation to anchor a blade of a new generator at the Muniesa wind farm.
We are in Muniesa, a municipality in the province of Teruel that was formerly integrated into the mining basins of Aragon – and which now has a new energy resource in the wind.
Jose María has been here long enough to know that the sky is everything. "We have more knowledge of the weather forecasts in this area than some meteorologists," he jokes as he continues to keep his eyes fixed on that crane and the colleagues who manoeuvre with cables, machinery, coils, screws and a long list of elements necessary to build a wind turbine.
A group of workers supervise the anchoring of the hub of a new wind turbine at the Muniesa wind farm.
Weather is what has led Jose María's team to be working against the clock. "If there's a thunderstorm or it's very windy, we can't manoeuvre the pieces of this puzzle," he explains. "Bear in mind that first all the material has to arrive – here the sections of the mast that make up the tower come from Aranda de Duero and the blades from Daimiel, and the rest from Denmark. We have to coordinate everything to arrives in time for when the foundations are ready, a critical job for the proper functioning of these wind turbines," he says while his colleagues continue to move back and forth. You can't feel the cold here with all the frenetic activity.
A group of workers make the final adjustments to the hub of a new wind turbine at the Muniesa wind farm.
"These turbines are assembled in sections: first, the two pieces of the shaft, measuring 29.6 metres each, are put in place, fitting them together like a kind of lego block; then the 73-metre rotor is installed, the heart of the mill, which makes everything work," explains Jose María as a rotor flies over the sky of Muniesa, bigger than a couple of buses that make long journeys by road.
A worker's arm holds a safety guide during the installation of a blade on a new wind turbine at the Muniesa wind farm.
"And at the end, when you've reached a height of 116 metres, you have to climb up there and put the blades in place".
A worker finishes checking the surface of a blade of a new generator at the Muniesa wind farm.
More than 45 people, many of them from the area, have worked on the construction of this wind farm made up of two wind turbines that will produce 9 megawatts of power. On the ground, they have been preparing each of the pieces that will later be hoisted up like feathers. Coordination between all of them is critical. Every screw, every rope, every element has to be in place, maintaining rigid safety standards that are essential for everything to go smoothly.
A worker supervises the installation of a wind blade of a new wind turbine at the Muniesa wind farm.
Everyone is very clear on what has to be done and executes each step with precision, without losing sight of the weather conditions, but in the end, when they look at the horizon from afar, they see the fruit of their efforts: A new renewable horizon.
Installation of a new wind turbine at the Muniesa wind farm.
José María Flores
Site Manager Área Proj Ex Leader North Spain&Sp.Islan