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Reprinted on: Original Color Ball Ball Brother Watching Wind

Since the establishment of China's first mixed tower prototype in 2015, in less than a decade, the wind power bidding data for concrete tower wind power in 2023 shows that the installed capacity of onshore wind power using concrete towers is close to 18GW. According to publicly awarded onshore wind power statistics, the market share of mixed towers in the wind power market is as high as 30%, which is surprising. According to the average single unit capacity of onshore wind power in 2023, which is 5.5MW, the number of towers using mixed towers has exceeded 3000. Actual preliminary statistical data shows that in 2023:

The actual winning bid for the mixed tower wind power station is close to 4000 units, and the delivery quantity is close to 2000 units

The world's first tallest tower fan (Goldwind Technology 185m)

No mixed tower below 140m: The entire wind turbine line enters the era of mixed towers

Qiu Ge has always been a persistent fan of mixed tower wind power. Recently, he has conducted extensive research and inspections on mixed towers. In September 2023, Qiu Ge witnessed the on-site lifting of the world's highest tower onshore wind power. The project owner was Three Gorges New Energy, and the complete machine supplier was the global leader Goldwind Technology. The tower supplier was Goldwind Technology's subsidiary, Beijing Tianshan High tech. The project used XCMG's 1250Ton crawler crane and completed the lifting in a month, ushering in a new era of Chinese high tower wind power.

From the development and application of high-rise towers within the industry, it is evident that China's wind power leaders have achieved overtaking in the development of wind power for mixed tower towers:

Goldwind Technology: The 100000 kilowatt wind power project in Jinfeng Funing District, Qinhuangdao started construction in March 2024. The wind power project, which will install 18 units, will also become the world's first batch project of 185 meter steel-concrete towers. According to media information provided by Goldwind Technology, the prototype of the 185 meter steel-concrete tower at the Fuyang Three Gorges Wind Farm is ready for mass production.

Mingyang Intelligence: In 2023, the 170m hybrid tower wind power has also achieved mass installation in its owner's hometown. According to media reports, a 190m hybrid tower prototype is being prepared

Vision Energy: The 170 meter hybrid tower will be delivered in bulk by 2023;

Yunda Group: Starting from 2023, it has achieved the hoisting of 180 meter ultra-high performance concrete mixed tower wind power, and in early May, the first batch of units for the world's first 180 meter ultra-high mixed tower wind power project were connected to the grid. It is worth mentioning that the wind farm has achieved batch installation of tower frames and wind turbines using boom tower cranes

Industry statistics show that in 2023, the height of wind power towers will start from 140m, and the entire series will use mixed tower towers, for a simple reason. As the single machine power increases, the impeller diameter of the fan doubles. Taking the current mainstream 5-6.25MW high tower wind turbines as an example, the impeller diameter has exceeded 200m, while the previous 3-4MW impeller diameter did not exceed 165m. Under the same wind speed conditions, the overall wind load of the tower and wind turbine has increased by more than 40%. If steel towers are continued to be used, the amount of steel used will significantly increase. In the end, the cost of steel towers far exceeds the cost of mixed tower towers, and the biggest advantage of mixed tower towers is that the overall rigidity of the tower is good. For towers of the same height, using mixed towers will increase the power generation of wind turbines by 3-5 percentage points, which is equivalent to an additional year of electricity generated by one wind turbine in 20 years.

It is the advantage of mixed tower structures in high tower wind power that has created today's mixed tower industry. The earliest domestic research and application began with today's global wind power leader Goldwind Technology, but Goldwind Technology began to engage in the mixed tower industry in bulk in 2018. The earliest project to start was the Xinjiang Hami project of Guojin New Energy, but Inner Mongolia Jinhai Co., Ltd. was the first to achieve batch delivery of mixed towers in real specialization. In 2018, it delivered 100 sets of 120m mixed towers to Datang in one go, which can be said that Jinhai Co., Ltd. has opened a new era of batch delivery of wind power mixed towers in China.

In the era of affordable wind power with rapid development of wind power hybrid towers, the previously unknown hybrid towers have also begun to appear in the industry's vision. In 2023, the Wind Power Hybrid Tower Branch of the China Concrete and Cement Products Association was established,

In 2018, Jinhai achieved the first batch delivery of mixed towers in China: accumulation and thin development, with the top five mixed towers dominating 80% of the market

In the 2023 Beijing International Wind Energy Exhibition, Qiu Ge discovered for the first time that commercial mixed companies under Beijing Construction Engineering Group have started to enter mixed towers and promote them at the exhibition. At last year's mixed tower technology forum, the world's largest cement general contractor, China National Materials Corporation (CNOOC), and its overseas international subsidiaries also entered the mixed tower market. Looking at the commercial mixed concrete companies under China Railway and China Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) in the construction industry, which previously engaged in precast concrete components, they began to join the mixed tower business field.

Professional things are done by professional people. The 30MW 300 meter wind power project of Yuanda in Hunan proves this point, as wind power is a systematic and professional field that not everyone can handle. The results of the mixed tower forum on the 17th proved this point, with the actual market share of the top five mixed tower suppliers exceeding 80%. Industry insiders who are not familiar with mixed towers believe that mixed towers are simply precast concrete components. In fact, mixed towers have higher technical requirements compared to traditional precast concrete components. In the past decade of industry elimination, five leading companies, namely Tianshan High Tech, Shanghai Fengling, Shanghai Research Concrete, Jinhai Group, and Jujie Technology, have risen to the forefront of the market:

Beijing Tianshan High tech Wind Power Technology Co., Ltd

Established in 2014, it is currently the largest mixed tower supplier in the domestic market, with a market advantage due to Goldwind Technology's strong promotion of high mixed tower technology.

Shanghai Fengling New Energy Co., Ltd

Established in 2020, it is a rapidly developing and fierce mixed tower supplier in recent years. Its technology source is similar to that of Tianshan High Tech and is closely related to Xinjiang Water Conservancy Institute. It has a great influence in the industry, with the Jiangsu Lianshui 180M batch high tower project coming from this enterprise.

Inner Mongolia Jinhai New Energy Technology Co., Ltd

Established in 2006, backed by Three Gorges Group, it is a public company controlled by a central enterprise. It is the first mixed tower supplier in China to supply mixed tower structures in bulk. In 2024, Three Gorges Group, as the capital, attaches great importance to the mixed tower field business. The chairman was reassigned to Three Gorges personnel, indicating the future market development trend of mixed tower business.

Zhejiang Jujie Mixed Tower New Energy Technology Co., Ltd

Established in 2018, with technology sourced from Electric Power Construction East China Institute, it is a mixed tower supplier with deep professional skills in the industry,

Yizhong (Heilongjiang) Wind Power Hybrid Tower Co., Ltd.: 2021

Established in 2021, it is a branch of Yizhong Group entering the new energy industry. Relying on cooperation with Shanghai Electric and Goldwind Technology, it vigorously develops its tower business and is the only mixed tower supplier in the industry that is absolutely controlled by a central enterprise.

The first domestic wind farm to be delivered in bulk - Datang Huaxian Wind Power (provided by Jinhai Group)

Here, we have to introduce Jinhai Group separately: this is one of the enterprises that Three Gorges has entered the new energy equipment industry. In 2024, Jinhai Group won the bid for two Guinness World Records wind power tower projects: a single unit capacity of 10MW and a tower height of 185m. This not only proves Jinhai Group's strength in the industry technology field, but also once again provides a solid foundation for the development of China's onshore large MW wind power.

Is the development of mixed towers unrestricted? The answer is no!

Batch project of 105 meter steel-concrete tower in the Damao Banner Shagehuang area of Baotou, Inner Mongolia

Where is the future of tall towers: Hoisting equipment, efficiency, and safety will become bottlenecks in the development of mixed towers

From a technical perspective, in areas with wind shear exceeding 0.2 meters, wind power development companies will try to use high towers as much as possible to obtain more wind energy resources. According to the technical analysis of the senior management of Tianshan High tech, if the wind shear exceeds 0.17 meters, using a 185 meter steel-concrete tower will have a better investment return rate than 160 meters: an increase of 0.2 meters per second in wind speed compared to 160 meter tower units can increase the annual full power generation hours by more than 150 hours, increase power generation by 8.38%, and increase the total investment return rate by 0.5%. Moreover, the most important development indicator will be broken, and the wind speed for developing wind resources will be reduced to 4.6m/s. In theory, the current height of the 185m mixed tower has clearly not reached the ceiling of the wind power tower.

Although technically speaking, achieving 260 meters is not even a problem, industry experts say. The current development of wind power with higher towers and larger single unit capacity faces several core factors:

1. How to meet the requirements of lifting equipment for higher heights: The current boom tower crane in the industry can meet the lifting of the main engine compartment and wheel hub of 200m and 22Ton, and in the future, higher heights can even reach up to 300m. How can the equipment meet the requirements.

2. How to ensure safety for larger single unit capacity fans with increasing lifting weight: under the same wind speed conditions, it was possible to lift 3-4MW impeller hubs at a wind speed of 8-10m/s. However, if a 10MW fan is not lifted by a tower crane in the future, it is not possible to lift a single blade with a crawler crane at a wind speed exceeding 6m/s.

3. The lifting efficiency of mixed towers with higher towers has significantly decreased, and the implementation of prestressed steel cables has become more complex. For pure mixed towers over 150m, the construction and technical scheme of prestressed steel cables will be very complex, and caution will be exercised in the prestressed scheme.

4. Higher tower structures require higher requirements for lifting equipment, and the updating and iteration of lifting equipment increases lifting costs. Currently, 1250 ton crawler cranes and 2800 ton. m tower cranes on the 180m tower market can meet these requirements. If 185m and above tower cranes use crawler cranes, at least 1350 ton of equipment is required, and the equipment usage cost will increase significantly.

The installation efficiency of steel-concrete towers varies. During an interview, Mr. Zhao from Tianshan High tech mentioned that the fastest way to lift one tower is in 4 days, and the slowest installation process may take more than 2 weeks. This data should come from a tower height of 120-140m. In fact, it takes at least 15 days to achieve the hoisting of a 160m tower with a fan impeller.

From this point of view, the all terrain truck crane is basically going to be launched into the high tower lifting market, because the equipment cost of truck cranes with a capacity of over 3000Ton will be greatly increased, and this equipment also belongs to the non road vehicle equipment transition, which is very complex. Of course, we have to recommend using a boom tower crane, which is what we call a tower crane.

High hybrid tower+boom tower crane: the best combination solution for high-altitude wind power in the future

From the perspective of equipment properties, boom tower cranes belong to construction equipment. However, in foreign countries, tower cranes have been used for mixed tower construction for nearly 20 years. The cost of using tower cranes is relatively low compared to crawler cranes, and its safety and reliability are far higher than crawler cranes and truck cranes. Its safe construction wind speed is 15-20m/s. More importantly, its operating construction area is less than half of that of crawler cranes and truck cranes, and its equipment operating parameters can meet the requirement of no upgrade within 5 years. That is to say, regardless of the weight and height of the wind turbine, tower cranes can meet the lifting requirements of existing wind farms without upgrading equipment within 5 years.

The hoisting results of the 180M mixed tower in Lianshui, Jiangsu Province show that the efficiency of the crawler crane hoisting is basically 30 days to complete the hoisting of one wind turbine and tower, while the tower crane of Yongmao Construction Machinery can complete the installation of one wind turbine and tower in 25 days, which is also the highest level of hoisting the highest tower wind turbine in the world currently.

Jiangsu Lianshui Wind Power Project 180 Tower - Yongmao Jianji 3280 Boom Tower Crane Site (Provided by Yongmao Jianji)

Of course, it is not that crawler cranes cannot be lifted. From the perspective of efficiency and cost, the equipment usage cost of crawler cranes with a tonnage of 1350 Ton or even higher will significantly increase. Moreover, from the perspective of usage scope, there is currently a problem that crawler cranes cannot meet the assembly requirements for wind power projects with a height of 160 meters in mountainous areas. This is because the main arm assembly requires a large land space, and the basic area of mountainous real estate cannot provide corresponding area. More importantly, the assembly of impellers is a problem, which further reflects the advantages of boom tower cranes. Its operating space only requires 30 * 30 pfm.

166m tower crane lifting, covering an area of 20 * 20pfm (pictures provided by Yongmao Construction Machinery)

180+m Mixed Tower Wind Power: How to Meet the Challenge

In fact, the development of mixed tower high towers has made their lifting more complex and safety more important, and the wider the scope of use, it has brought about environmental issues for the installation of mixed towers. In addition to fixing the pre-stressed system, it is also necessary to fill and connect the sections and pieces of the tower, otherwise stress will be generated between the two, leading to stress concentration and defects. Epoxy or cement-based filling materials are also needed between the tower rings, and the next process can only be carried out after a certain curing time. Therefore, the issue of environmental temperature must be mentioned here. The efficiency of winter installation in northern regions is not only related to lifting efficiency, but also to bonding efficiency. Because the adhesion between the rings directly affects the performance and safety of the entire tower.

A height of 185m is definitely not the end point, we can believe it. At present, there are nearly 200 sets of mixed tower projects with a height of 185m in China. Currently, our mixed tower wind power is mainly concentrated in areas with low wind speed and high shear, with tower heights of 140m and above. This area is mainly in the central and southeastern regions, where temperatures are relatively high. With the future tower height exceeding 140m, the application of mixed towers will all enter the Three North region, and the temperature in this area will be below minus 20 degrees. How to ensure low-temperature adhesion performance will become a new challenge for wind power.

It can be predicted that wind power with a tower height of over 140m will basically cover onshore wind power in the future. In the next 2-3 years, the tower market for mixed towers will cover more than 60% of onshore wind power, and the number of wind turbine towers will exceed 6000. This will bring new challenges to the mixed tower products and the high tower hoisting market. Of course, the risks of mixed towers must be highly valued. For buildings, concrete does not bear dynamic fatigue loads, and mixed towers need to bear fatigue dynamic loads. At the same time, there is also a frequency matching problem between concrete and metal steel towers. At this time, the quality control of mixed towers will become the biggest challenge for our mixed towers.

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