Vattenfall borrows Russian helicopter

Growing demand for green power in Sweden has inspired state utility Vattenfall to become an active player in the wind market. This summer two 500 kW turbines will be installed by Vattenfall in Stenungsund in the province Bohuslän on the west coast, close to Norway. The utility will also install another two turbines at the coastal Lyse wind plant to join a prototype Nordic Wind Power 400 and a Bonus 450 kW unit. Vattenfall is also negotiating with Micon for supply of turbines for a site in the mountains behind the Bohuslän coast. A building licence has been granted for three turbines there. The area is not accessible by road so project manager Sven Olof Granholm intends to install the machines using a giant helicopter from Russia. Sweden has no helicopters large enough for the job, but the Russian machine is capable of lifting as much as 30 tons, ten times that of their Swedish counterparts, says Granholm.