Wind farm Gantt chart template with lifting window and cure wait
An editable wind farm Gantt chart: consent and grid waits, roads and foundations with a concrete cure, turbine delivery and the crane lifting window, cables, substation and turbine-by-turbine commissioning.
What the wind farm gantt chart template with lifting window and cure wait process is
A wind farm looks like a civil job until the turbines arrive, then it becomes a lifting job with a very expensive crane. That is why the date is not set by the longest civil task. It is set by the moment the crane can start lifting, and that moment waits for three things: foundations that have cured, hardstands that can carry the crane, and components that have started to arrive on site. Everything before that point is preparation for one window, and everything after it is a chain of erection and commissioning that follows the window.
This template has four groups: Permits and access, Civil and foundations, Turbines and erection, and Grid and commissioning. It has 22 tasks and four milestones: "Consent granted", "Lifting window opens", "Substation energised" and "Commercial operation". "Fix turbine layout and site boundary" (5 working days) is the only starting task. Three things then run side by side: "Authority review of consent application" (20) and "Utility study for grid connection" (25) are plain wait tasks, and "Order turbines and towers" (3) is placed early because "Manufacture turbine components" (65) is the longest wait in the plan. Replace the two waits with what the authority and the utility tell you.
The civil work is split so the cure shows up as its own bar. "Build site access and haul roads" (15) waits for "Consent granted" and for "Survey ground conditions and haul route". "Excavate foundation bases" (6) is followed by "Fix rebar and pour foundation concrete" (12) and then "Wait for concrete cure" (15). "Build crane hardstands" (8) starts 2 days after the excavation starts, so the crane pads are not left until the foundations are done. "Deliver turbine components to site" (10) waits for the haul roads and for the manufacturing.
The lifting window is where the plan pulls together. "Mobilise crane to site" (4) waits for the cure and for the hardstands, and starts 5 days after "Deliver turbine components to site" starts, so the crane is not hired before there is something to lift. "Lifting window opens" follows, then "Erect towers and turbines" (20). With these illustrative durations the delivery start, not the cure, decides when the crane comes, so a delivery slip moves the whole erection and a longer cure only matters if it passes the delivery. Check which one is later in your own numbers, and use the critical path toggle to see it.
The grid side runs beside the lifting. "Install collection cables" (18) follows the haul roads and "Build substation" (25) follows consent. "Substation energised" waits for both and for the utility study. "Commission turbines one by one" (20) starts 4 days after erection starts, so finished turbines are commissioned while others are still being lifted, and it also waits for the energised substation. "Run reliability test on the wind farm" (10) leads to "Commercial operation". The late change that costs most is a turbine type or tower change after the order, because it moves delivery and the foundations are designed around it. A timeline schedules the work and does not make anything permitted, safe, certified or compliant. If the crane window, a connection date or a hire period is fixed, pin the Start of the first task and of that task, read the conflict flag, and compare the finish date with the date you need. See /templates/equipment-installation-gantt for the general installation pattern, /templates/construction-gantt-chart for a building project and /templates/electrical-system-commissioning-sop for the commissioning steps. The long-lead pattern is in /guides/long-lead-equipment-gantt-chart and the staging in /guides/commissioning-and-energisation-gantt-chart.
What this flowchart covers
In this template
- Four groups, Permits and access, Civil and foundations, Turbines and erection and Grid and commissioning, with 22 tasks and four milestones: "Consent granted", "Lifting window opens", "Substation energised" and "Commercial operation".
- Two outside waits shown as plain tasks: "Authority review of consent application" (20 working days) and "Utility study for grid connection" (25), with durations to replace.
- A foundation sequence that ends in "Wait for concrete cure" (15), with "Build crane hardstands" starting 2 days after "Excavate foundation bases" starts.
- A crane gate: "Mobilise crane to site" waits for the cure and the hardstands and starts 5 days after "Deliver turbine components to site" starts, before "Lifting window opens".
- Overlapped grid work: "Install collection cables" and "Build substation" run beside the lifting, and "Commission turbines one by one" starts 4 days after "Erect towers and turbines" starts.
When to use this template
- You are planning the build of a wind farm and need one chart that shows the civil work, the turbine deliveries, the lifting and the grid side together.
- You want to see whether the cure or the deliveries decide when the crane arrives, and what a slip in either does.
- You need to compare the finish date with the date you need, for a financing step, a connection date or a crane hire period.
- You want a skeleton that a developer, an owner's engineer and a contractor can each edit with their own durations.
The plan, task by task
Every task in the chart with its length in working days and what it waits for. A dependency is a step number; SS is start-to-start, FF is finish-to-finish, and +n is a lag in working days.
| # | Task | Group | Working days | Depends on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fix turbine layout and site boundary | Permits and access | 5 | |
| 2 | Authority review of consent application | Permits and access | 20 | 1 |
| 3 | Utility study for grid connection | Permits and access | 25 | 1 |
| 4 | Consent granted | Permits and access | Milestone | 2 |
| 5 | Survey ground conditions and haul route | Civil and foundations | 8 | 1 |
| 6 | Build site access and haul roads | Civil and foundations | 15 | 4, 5 |
| 7 | Excavate foundation bases | Civil and foundations | 6 | 6 |
| 8 | Fix rebar and pour foundation concrete | Civil and foundations | 12 | 7 |
| 9 | Wait for concrete cure | Civil and foundations | 15 | 8 |
| 10 | Build crane hardstands | Civil and foundations | 8 | 7SS+2 |
| 11 | Order turbines and towers | Turbines and erection | 3 | 1 |
| 12 | Manufacture turbine components | Turbines and erection | 65 | 11 |
| 13 | Deliver turbine components to site | Turbines and erection | 10 | 6, 12 |
| 14 | Mobilise crane to site | Turbines and erection | 4 | 9, 10, 13SS+5 |
| 15 | Lifting window opens | Turbines and erection | Milestone | 14 |
| 16 | Erect towers and turbines | Turbines and erection | 20 | 15 |
| 17 | Install collection cables | Grid and commissioning | 18 | 6 |
| 18 | Build substation | Grid and commissioning | 25 | 4 |
| 19 | Substation energised | Grid and commissioning | Milestone | 3, 17, 18 |
| 20 | Commission turbines one by one | Grid and commissioning | 20 | 16SS+4, 19 |
| 21 | Run reliability test on the wind farm | Grid and commissioning | 10 | 20 |
| 22 | Commercial operation | Grid and commissioning | Milestone | 21 |
How it works
Replace the two waits first
Set "Authority review of consent application" and "Utility study for grid connection" to what you have been told, and leave the rest until those are real. They are waits, not effort.
Place the turbine order early
Keep "Order turbines and towers" right after the layout. Change "Manufacture turbine components" to the supplier's stated time, because it is the longest wait in the plan.
Show the cure as its own task
Keep "Wait for concrete cure" separate from "Fix rebar and pour foundation concrete", and set its length from your foundation design, not from a rule of thumb.
Set the crane gate honestly
"Mobilise crane to site" has a start-to-start link of 5 days from the first delivery. Change that lag to match how many turbines you want on site before the crane is hired.
Overlap the grid work and commissioning
Keep "Install collection cables" and "Build substation" beside the lifting, and change the 4-day lag on "Commission turbines one by one" to how soon the first turbine is ready.
Add owners, share and export
Put the responsible person in People, share the chart with the developer, contractor and utility contact, and export a PDF or CSV when you need a copy.
Frequently asked questions
What decides the finish date of a wind farm build?
In this template it is the chain from "Order turbines and towers" through "Manufacture turbine components" and "Deliver turbine components to site" to the lifting window, with the cure close behind. The durations are illustrative, so check your own.
Does the chart prove the plan is permitted, safe or compliant?
No. It schedules the work. Consent, safety, grid connection and certification follow their own rules and are recorded elsewhere. The chart shows when each step is meant to happen.
How do I show a fixed crane hire or connection date?
Pin the Start of the first task and of the fixed task, and read the conflict flag. The plan starts on the earliest fixed Start and does not move earlier work to fit, so compare the finish date with the date you need.
Can I use it for a repowering or a single turbine?
Yes, with changes. Remove the tasks you do not need, shorten the roads and cables, and keep the order, delivery and lifting window. For a plain installation see /templates/equipment-installation-gantt.
Why commission turbine by turbine?
Because turbines are finished one after another. A start-to-start link with a lag lets the first one be commissioned while others are still being erected. See /guides/gantt-chart-overlapping-tasks for the method.