Bits and pieces of the area’s next wind farm began rolling out of the downtown rail yard and down North Texas highways Tuesday headed for Jacksboro.
Josh Provo, field manager for Casper, Wyoming-based crane, rigging and heavy haul company Energy Transportation Inc., said crews began loading and hauling sections of towers and blades for delivery to the Keechi Wind Project in Jack County. Tower sections and the massive blades have been delivered and stored at the rail yard since June, he said, and the company anticipates being in Wichita Falls through December.
It’s cheaper for Vestas, the manufacturer of the wind generators, to use railroads rather than trucks to get their product close to the site where they will be built, he said.
“They find a location that’s suitable for the trains, suitable for the trucks, close to the wind farm project, and an open bid goes out to several companies involved in it,†Provo said. “We happened to get this job.â€
The original site for unloading and distributing the massive wind generator pieces was picked about 20 miles north of Wichita Falls, he said.
But it made more sense to use the yard in Wichita Falls because of the services Wichita, Tillman & Jackson Railway Co., managers of the Wichita Falls rail yard, could provide on site.
John Ingle
