48 PES: North America

Corporate Focus

CN provides a greener way to ship wind turbine components

CN’s rail network spans Canada and mid-

America, from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to

the Gulf of Mexico. Combined with the railroad’s

ability to work with connecting rail carriers

throughout North America and the fact that CN

provides service at more ports than any other

North American railroad, CN offers attractive

shipping solutions for companies shipping within

North America and internationally.

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PES: North America 49

With wind turbines helping the world

shift to a greener energy supply, more

and more environmentally conscious

manufacturers – and their customers

– are interested in utilizing a greener

transportation mode to get their wind

turbines to their destination. CN is in a

strong position to support this important

emerging market, with a shipping solution

that is truly seamless, and a definite

green advantage.

Emissions reduction is an integral part of

CN’s day-to-day activities. The railroad’s

new EPA Tier 2-compliant locomotives

produce approximately 40% less nitrogen

oxides than unregulated locomotives

and consume up to 20% less fuel. In

fact, CN can move one tonne of freight

197 kilometres on just one litre of fuel.

Automatic stop/start devices shut

locomotives down when they are not

in use, and a low-idle feature ensures

engines idle at reduced speed, conserving

as much as 10 litres of fuel per hour.

Compared to heavy trucks, shipping by

rail offers a major advantage in terms of

emissions reduction – rail has been shown

to emit six times less greenhouse gases

than heavy trucks.

Shipping damage-free – efficiently

It’s been scientifically proven that

shipping by rail results in a less

jarring ride for turbine components.

Additionally, the incidence of Foreign

Object Debris (FOD) is lower on rail than

road. Other advantages of shipping by

rail include the fact that rail lines are

able to handle more weight than the

allowable limit on highways, so shippers

may benefit from a higher maximum

payload. CN customers count on the

railroad to deliver as promised, and

appreciate the railroad’s reputation for

virtually damage-free shipping.

Reach, speed, capacity and reliability are

key benefits of shipping with CN

The CN network serves the main wind

farm regions of Canada – from Nova

Scotia to British Columbia, as well as

the U.S. Midwest. Additionally, the

railroad serves multiple ports suited to the

importation of wind turbine components,

including Halifax, Saint John, N.B.,

Quebec City, Thunder Bay, Duluth, Minn.,

Vancouver and Prince Rupert.

CN is often able to ship turbine

components on their regularly scheduled

trains. This avoids the need to ship at

night, providing a meaningful logistics

benefit.

The railroad’s high-capacity mainline,

strategically positioned yards and

terminals provide the capacity and

facilities necessary to support efficient

handling every step of the way to

destination.

A complete transportation solution

Through CN WorldWide North America,

CN provides the expertise of logistics

specialists to manage every aspect of

a customer’s shipment. These logistics

professionals have extensive expertise in

rail transportation, trucking, transloading,

warehousing and physical distribution.

When necessary, the group also leverages

strong relationships with experienced

third-party logistics companies.

There is no “typical” shipment, so the

railroad’s logistics specialists provide

whatever support is necessary. That

might include height and width clearance

analysis, a trip plan for the shipment,

recommendations for special equipment

(including heavy-duty railcars and/or

containers for smaller components),

special train service, safe loading

requirements, and arrangements at

transload facilities for truck to rail transfer.

CN works with connecting rail carriers

throughout North America to design the

most efficient route for each shipment.

In fact, CN’s complete transportation

solution can include every aspect of a

move, for true door-to-door delivery.

CN has extensive experience transporting

a wide range of structures, heavy

equipment and specialized materials.

That experience, combined with the

right equipment to do the job, and long-

standing relationships with regulatory

and advisory agencies governing

transportation, have led the railroad to

rank as one of North America’s largest

carriers of over-sized loads. CN has

been working with customers in the wind

energy business for many years, and has

handled more than 2,100 carloads of

wind turbine components, including tower

sections, blades, nacelles and hubs.

CN has been working with customers in the wind energy business for many years, and has handled more than 2,100 carloads of wind turbine components

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50 PES: North America

Corporate Focus

CN and CN Specialized Services (CNSS)

have recently completed the first-ever rail

move of twin-pack wind turbine blades

from German manufacturer Enercon

GmbH and Salco Energy Services Inc.

of Calgary. Enercon is a leading global

manufacturer of wind turbine systems,

and Salco Energy is an experienced wind

turbine transport and wind park logistics

management company in Canada.

The 51 sets of twin-pack blades are

being installed in the 102 MW Bear

Mountain Wind Park in Dawson Creek,

B.C. When completed the Bear Mountain

installation will have 34 Enercon E-82

3.0 MW wind turbines that will generate

enough clean, renewable electricity

to power most of B.C.’s South Peace

Region. The project is on schedule to

become B.C.’s first fully operational wind

park by the end of 2009.

The wind turbine blades, which are 135 feet

(41 metres) in length, were transported by

sea aboard three vessels from the Port of

Emden, Germany, with the first ship arriving

at the Port of Thunder Bay, Ont., in early

May 2009. CNSS, which arranged for rail car

modifications for the move, also coordinated

the unloading of the blades from the vessel

and the loading of the blades and support

equipment onto rail cars.

A total of six trains were required to

transport the equipment from Thunder

Bay to Dawson Creek over CN’s

network. At destination, CNSS provided

services for unloading the equipment for

transportation to the wind farm.

Dan Bingeman, CN assistant vice-

president, said: “The logistics of

moving the turbine components were a

challenge, but that is what CN and CNSS

do best. And we are well positioned to

support this important emerging market

on account of our extensive network

reach, port connections on three coasts,

expertise and complete transportation

solutions.”

CN’s network serves the main wind farm

regions of Canada, from Nova Scotia to

British Columbia, and the U.S. Midwest

as well as multiple ports suitable for the

importation of wind turbine components

– Halifax, Saint John, N.B., Quebec City,

Thunder Bay, Duluth, Minn., Vancouver,

Prince Rupert, B.C., Mobile, Ala., and

New Orleans.

CN has extensive experience transporting

a wide range of structures, heavy

equipment and specialized materials and

is one of the largest carriers of over-sized

loads in North America, moving more

than 2,100 carloads of wind turbine

components since 2005.

CN has the right equipment, dimensional

loads experts, and long-standing

relationships with regulatory and advisory

agencies governing transportation.

CNSS provides expertise in handling all

over-dimensional rail-moves on CN. Its

resources include comprehensive project

management, including transload

facilities throughout Canada, and a

one-price, one-invoice service for door-

to-door transportation. CNSS provides

transload truck-to-rail, rail-to-truck and

assistance with vessel-to-rail or rail-to-

vessel loading.

Wind turbine components are one

of CN’s growing sustainable energy

business segments, which include

environmentally friendly wood pellets for

energy generation, biodiesel and ethanol.

“CN, as a railway, can help address

the challenge of climate change,” said

Bruno Demers, director of marketing

for CN. “Rail emits six times less

greenhouse gases (GHG) than heavy

trucks. Plus, rail consumes a fraction of

the fuel to transport one tonne of freight

one kilometre. In fact, CN can move one

tonne of freight 197 kilometres on just

one litre of fuel. Using less fuel means

fewer GHG emissions. In addition, our

new main-line locomotives produce

approximately 40 per cent less nitrogen

oxides than older locomotives and

consume up to 20 per cent less fuel. Rail

also relieves traffic congestion, improves

mobility in urban areas, and can ease

pressure to renew road infrastructure by

taking goods off highways.”

For more information, visit: www.cn.ca

Providing an overland logistics package for “big move” to northern British ColumbiaTurbine moves a part of CN’s growing green businesses

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Memphis

Minneapolis/St. Paul

Chicago

Calgary

Winnipeg

Regina

SaskatoonHearst

Thunder Bay

Toronto

Moncton

MontrealDuluth HalifaxQuebec

New Orleans

Vancouver

Prince RupertPrince George

Fort Nelson Hay River

Fort McMurray

Edmonton

When you ship wind turbine components with us, they go greener.

Wind turbines are helping the world shift to a greener energy supply. So, it makes sense to ship

them using a greener mode of transportation. At CN, we’ve been working with customers in the wind

energy business for years. In fact, we’ve already handled over 2,100 carloads of wind turbine components.

Everything from tower sections to nacelles. And shipping your turbine components couldn’t be easier.

We offer regularly scheduled trains, a North America-wide rail network, and access to world markets via

Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf Coast ports. At CN, we have the experience and expertise to offer you proven,

efficient transportation solutions for all of your wind energy needs.

Find out how CN provides greener transportation for green energy.

Call 1-888-MOVIN-CN.

www.cn.ca

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