United Rentals, an equipment rental company, has added battery energy systems - developed in partnership with Termaco - for tower cranes to its North American rental fleet.
The systems provide clean, sustainable power, helping contractors reduce fuel consumption and equipment-related downtime while achieving quieter, lower-emission job sites. They are configurable for up to 500 kW and operate alongside a generator to deliver reliable power to support tower crane operations. By storing energy in batteries and running on battery power, they reduce generator run time.
Solar panels can power the battery unit to create a completely emission-free solution for smaller applications. This allows a contractor to downsize the generator and dramatically reduce generator run time and emissions while meeting peak power demands. This system is part of a range of low and zero-emission solutions.
“Battery energy systems for tower cranes provide a great application of practical sustainability on the job site by helping contractors address their economic and environmental goals,” said Larry Worthington, Region Vice President of Power and HVAC at United Rentals. “This solution demonstrates United Rentals’ commitment to bringing innovative products to market that deliver outstanding value to our customers.”
Award Construction, an Alberta-based general contracting firm, used the United Rentals battery energy system to fully power an 8-ton, 70-meter-tall tower crane at Riverbank Landing, a 20-acre planned mixed-use community being built in Edmonton.
Award implemented a 300 kVA T4 generator 24 hours a day to power its tower crane and charged the battery energy system with a 100 kW generator for two and a half hours a day, allowing them to operate the crane solely on battery power. In this project, generator run time was reduced by 91%, which provided a fuel and emissions reduction of approximately 80%.
