Nabrawind's 188-meter crane-free tower gets type certification with Envision 7.8 MW turbine
Nabrawind's self-erecting tower, raised by hydraulics without a crawler crane, is being used by Fortescue for 17 turbines at the 133 MW Nullagine wind project in Western Australia.
Spanish company Nabrawind has developed the Nabralift system for installing tall wind turbine towers without a large crawler crane, cleantechnica.com reports. In September 2026, UL Solutions issued type certification for Envision's 7.8 MW turbine on Nabrawind's 188-meter tower. 
cleantechnica.comcleantechnica.comcleantechnica.comOpen source ↗ Fortescue is using 17 of these tower configurations at the 133 MW Nullagine wind project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, where construction is underway. cleantechnica.comcleantechnica.comcleantechnica.comOpen source ↗
How the Nabralift system works
The system uses a tubular upper tower supported by a three-legged steel structure. Hydraulic equipment raises the assembled turbine, while modular tower sections are inserted below it near ground level. cleantechnica.comcleantechnica.comcleantechnica.comOpen source ↗ The lifting frame is then removed and can be used on another installation. cleantechnica.comcleantechnica.comcleantechnica.comOpen source ↗ The approach targets remote sites, where specialist cranes are expensive to transport and where wind can interrupt conventional lifting operations.
Nabrawind previously erected a 160-meter prototype in Spain in under two weeks. It has also supplied smaller commercial towers in Morocco and France. cleantechnica.comcleantechnica.comcleantechnica.comOpen source ↗ The company reports using roughly 20% less tower steel than comparable conventional tubular designs and reducing foundation concrete by as much as 80%, depending on design and site. These are supplier figures, not savings independently established across wind farms. cleantechnica.comcleantechnica.comcleantechnica.comOpen source ↗
Ownership and procurement
Fortescue acquired Nabrawind in September 2025 and is building Nullagine to serve its own mining operations. cleantechnica.comcleantechnica.comcleantechnica.comOpen source ↗ According to the source, installation in this setting would show construction performance, but would not show that an unrelated developer can finance and maintain the system on ordinary third-party commercial terms.
Conventional tubular towers can be sourced from several qualified manufacturers. A developer choosing Nabralift currently depends on one supplier for the core tower system, specialist lifting knowledge and associated support. cleantechnica.comcleantechnica.comcleantechnica.comOpen source ↗ A type certificate covers the certified turbine-and-tower configuration. Delivery schedules, long-term warranties, repair and maintenance provisions and spare parts remain subjects for contracts with lenders and insurers, the source notes, particularly for wind farms meant to operate for 25 years or longer.
The source names an independently developed and financed large wind farm as Nabrawind's next proof point.
