The wind tower, measuring 443 feet tall, was constructed in June 2011 at the Lincoln Electric world headquarters and manufacturing campus in Cleveland, Ohio. This installation is the largest known urban wind tower in North America, and is capable of producing 2.5-megawatts of electrical energy, or approximately 10 percent of the requirements for Lincoln Electric’s main Cleveland manufacturing facility.

The tower project is truly a global endeavor:

  • The 'can' sections were fabricated by Katana Summit, LLC in Columbus, Nebraska using Lincoln Electric Power Wave® AC/DC 1000® SD units, Power Feed® wire feeders, Lincolnweld® flux and wire.
  • The blades, formed from glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP), were produced in Poland by the world’s leading supplier of wind tower blades, LM Wind Power.
  • The turbine was designed and manufactured by KENERSYS of Germany. It features KENERSYS' innovative SYNDERDRIVE TECHNOLOGY – a proven, load-optimized mechanical drive train system.

The project represents important cost savings, as well as the Company’s commitment to integrating renewable energy sources into its manufacturing processes.

Even more importantly, it stands as a symbol of Lincoln Electric’s commitment to the wind tower fabrication industry – showcasing the unique benefits that Lincoln Electric products and welding solutions offer to a prominent, fast-growing business segment.

The wind tower, measuring 443 feet tall, was constructed in June 2011 at the Lincoln Electric world headquarters and manufacturing campus in Cleveland, Ohio. This installation is the largest known urban wind tower in North America, and is capable of producing 2.5-megawatts of electrical energy, or approximately 10 percent of the requirements for Lincoln Electric’s main Cleveland manufacturing facility.

The tower project is truly a global endeavor:

  • The 'can' sections were fabricated by Katana Summit, LLC in Columbus, Nebraska using Lincoln Electric Power Wave® AC/DC 1000® SD units, Power Feed® wire feeders, Lincolnweld® flux and wire.
  • The blades, formed from glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP), were produced in Poland by the world’s leading supplier of wind tower blades, LM Wind Power.
  • The turbine was designed and manufactured by KENERSYS of Germany. It features KENERSYS' innovative SYNDERDRIVE TECHNOLOGY – a proven, load-optimized mechanical drive train system.

The project represents important cost savings, as well as the Company’s commitment to integrating renewable energy sources into its manufacturing processes.

Even more importantly, it stands as a symbol of Lincoln Electric’s commitment to the wind tower fabrication industry – showcasing the unique benefits that Lincoln Electric products and welding solutions offer to a prominent, fast-growing business segment.

Lincoln Electric Wind Tower Project

Location

22800 Saint Clair Avenue, Euclid, Ohio 44117
1.7 miles south of Lake Erie shore
Latitude: 41-35-04.89N NAD 83
Longitude: 81-31-32.81W

Lincoln Electric Headquarters Building

Cranes Used

Primary Crane: Manitowoc 16000 Crawler Crane:
400 Metric Ton Lift Capacity (440 ton)
Crane was delivered to the site on 22 separate trailers
Crane required 5 days to be assembled

Trailing Crane: Grove GMK 5120B:
100 Metric Ton Lift Capacity (120 ton)

Ranger 330MPX - Wind Tower Maintenance

Specifications

How big is the tower?

  • Measures 443 feet tall from the base to the tip of the blade
  • Composed of 4 tubular steel tower sections that weigh a combined 435,000 lbs.
  • Tower diameter is 14.1 feet at the base and 10.2 feet at the top
  • Tower wall thickness varies from over 2” at the bottom to ½” at the top
  • The 4 tower sections, Foundation Mounting Part, and Nacelle are bolted together with (240) bolts over 1-7/8” in diameter and (384) bolts over 1-3/8” in diameter
  • Katana-Summit reports that 2951 lbs of L61 Wire and 5878 lbs of WTX Flux was used in the fabrication of the tower

 

Features 3 blades:

  • Each blade is about 164 feet long from center of hub to tip of blade
  • Weighs over 24,000 lbs each
  • Blade Rotation: Clockwise
  • Blade swept area: 84,000 sq feet (almost 1.5 times larger than the area of a football field)
  • Blade Orientation: Upwind

How fast can the blades travel?

Blade tip speed is 165 mph at a hub rotation of 14.1 rpm

What are the dimensions of the base?

  • 2,800 cubic yards of earth was excavated to 12 feet below grade
  • Foundation is a gravity base that is a 56 foot wide octagon shape
  • Foundation is 4 feet thick at the edge and 12 feet thick at the center
  • 595 cubic yards of concrete weighing over 2.3 million pounds - enough to make a 4 foot wide sidewalk that is 4 inches thick two and a half miles long
  • Contains 65 tons of reinforced steel rebar

 

Ranger 330MPX - Wind Tower Maintenance

Project Timeline

  • Ground breaking ceremony: March 9, 2011
  • Construction start: March 15, 2011
  • Foundation pour #1: March 31, 2011
  • FMP set: April 8, 2011
  • Foundation pour #2: April 13, 2011
  • Turbine raised: June 2-6, 2011
  • Over 7000 hours of construction labor required at the site, with contributions from: Ironworkers, Operating Engineers, Electricians, Bricklayers, Laborers, Installer Technicians, Roofers, Truck Drivers, Carpenters, Cement Masons
Aerial vew of Lincoln Electric Euclid Campus