The SOFT-SPOT® was developed by CTE Wind’s engineering team and is implemented in various countries around the world. This foundation design optimizes the use of resources and helps to save concrete, reinforcement bars and less surface for the foundation. This reduces the time and costs.

La Richardais (FRA) – CTE Wind has already developed and implemented some projects since the launch of the SOFT-SPOT®. Several hundreds of the new foundation design are built around the world : Brazil, France, Lithuania, Indonesia, Mexico, Netherland, Russia, Serbia, Sweden and Thailand to name a few. As a result of his astonishing design the projects allow savings in concrete volume up to 15%, reduction of foundation diameter and total weight of reinforcement bars of 2-5%. In some cases what is even more important than the material costs is the available space : with SOFT-SPOT® you need less surface for the foundation. This reduces the time and excavation costs.

Layer of soft material

CTE WIND Civil Engineering presents to the market a new foundation system for wind turbines, a WTG shallow gravity foundation with SOFT-SPOT®. Through placing a layer of soft material below the central part of the foundation, the slab will effectively act as a ring foundation with respect to the soil-structure interaction. The bearing pressure of the WTG is concentrated at the annular contact surface closer to the edge of the slab. This increases the lever arm of the stabilizing moment. Therefore, the foundation diameter can be reduced in comparison to a standard foundation solution.

Simply the most economical foundation

Thanks to SOFT-SPOT® intelligent design less excavation work is needed. This reduces the machine costs. A major point is that no additional training of site workers is required for the construction of the soft layer. The construction is very easy and the material for the soft layer can be purchased cheaply all over the world. Or as one of CTE Wind’s client pointed out: It is simply the most economical foundation you can choose. (ctewind)

Please contact us if you are interested in knowing more about CTE Wind’s SOFT-SPOT®

CTE Wind, global leader in civil engineering for wind turbine foundaiton design, celebrates remarkable growth and presence in 75 countries.

CTE Wind has experienced remarkable growth since its establishment in 2003. Over the past decade, the company’s expansion has been particularly noteworthy. In 2012, CTE Wind successfully implemented projects in 23 countries, including Canada, South Africa, and Greece. France accounted for the majority share of these projects. Presently, CTE Wind has extended its reach to an impressive 75 countries worldwide.

One of CTE Wind’s significant achievements in 2012 was the design and development of the Tarfaya wind farm in Morocco, which was then the largest wind farm in the country. Spanning across 10,000 hectares of land, the Tarfaya wind farm boasts a total capacity of 301 MW and encompasses 131 turbines. This remarkable project played a pivotal role in helping Morocco reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and achieve its renewable energy goals.

The wind energy landscape has undergone substantial transformations in recent years. Not only are wind farms becoming larger in scale, with installations exceeding 150 wind turbines becoming the norm in certain countries, but the wind turbines themselves are also becoming more powerful. In 2012, the average wind turbine had a power rating between 1 and 2 MW. However, today it is more common to see turbines with a capacity of 4 to 6+ MW. Furthermore, there is ongoing development in the industry, with Chinese original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) working on onshore wind turbines that match the power output of offshore generators. It is anticipated that in the near future, we may witness the emergence of turbines with an astounding output of 8 to 10 MW. This progress raises important questions regarding the design and construction of wind turbine foundations. As CTE Wind continues to innovate and expand its presence in the global wind energy market, it remains at the forefront of these advancements, consistently adapting its expertise to meet the evolving needs and challenges of the industry.

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About CTE Wind

About CTE Wind – Experts in Foundation Design World Wide:We serve since 2003 the wind industry as civil / structural engineers for wind park owner, developers and EPC/BoP-contractors, often also directly for the OEMs. 27500 wind turbines in 75 countries. We provide geotechnical services, preliminary and final designs for wind turbine foundations, repowering and life time extension services.

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Two simply but effective foundation solutions are the rock anchor, designed for a wind park in Mexico and the high plinth solution for a wind farm in Chile. They are highly cost efficient, feasible and have proven to be very reliable in many projects.

Bilbao (ESP) – Special requests often demand tailormade solutions. But tailormade needs an high specialization and a lot of knowhow from the engineers in the specific field. In foundation design for wind turbine generator (WTG), this specific knowledge is not that common, except for CTE Wind International. Their senior engineers are often asked to find new design solutions. For this purpose, they resort to tried and tested instead of reinventing the wheel. Two simply but effective solutions are the rock anchor and the high plinth solution. They aren’t NEW solutions but are highly cost efficient, feasible and their reliability has been proved in many projects. This article features two project cases, among many others, where CTE Wind International designed a rock anchor for a wind park in Mexico and a high plinth foundation for a wind farm in Chile.

Cost savings thanks to rock anchor

In Mexico CTE Wind Ibérica was selected as WTG foundation designer by a Spanish EPC company. The project has more than 20 WTGs with concrete towers. The project analysis conducted by the Spanish expert in foundation design has led to the recommendation to deploy two different solutions in order to optimize the costs of project. In fact, the soil conditions showed that over a third of the wind turbines were planned on rocky ground. Rather than equipping all wind turbine with standard slab foundations, CTE Wind’s engineering team decided together with the customer to implement rock anchors. This solution uses the rock masses as a WTG foundation. In that way the construction company is able take advantage of the earth crust instead of building a slab foundation. The costs for the reinforced concrete and the construction work can be saved. But this solution is specially challenging as the engineers have to adapt the foundation, with an interface, between the concrete towers and the rock anchors. Not to forget the special design work of these anchors that needs to be done. Finally, the client was impressed and satisfied about the result. But more important: the project costs were below the initial budget.

High plinth for extra height

In another case, CTE Wind was approached by a global construction company and explained the challenge for its project in Chile, with over 35 WTGs. The customer needed an hub height of 4 meters more to increase the energy production and ensure the yield and so its income. They weren’t totally satisfied with a complex solution by one of CTE Wind’s competitors. That is why the construction company asked CTE Wind to find a simple, reliable, feasible and cost-effective solution. That is how the high plinth foundation was chosen: a solution already tested and implemented in multiple projects in Europe. The idea of this foundation is to reach higher hub height with a high pedestal. The tower stands 3 to 6 meters above the «ground level», keeping the gravity foundation independent from the tower system. Ideally the solution provides a longer anchor cage. CTE Wind’s engineering team designed the anchor cage for this project and determined the bolt length and steel quality. If needed CTE Wind can also prepare the detailed anchor cage drawing. After comparing the results of CTE Wind’s predesigns to the competitor’s solutions, the customer decided to go ahead with CTE Wind’s high plinth foundation. No difficulties in regards the construction have been reported. On the contrary, the Spanish expert of WTG foundation design was congratulated.

Warsaw (POL) /La Richardais (FRA) – Poland biggest wind park with an estimated power output of 220 MW is currently in the assembly phase. The project is a complex of parcs on the Middle Seashore close to the Baltic sea and will have 81 wind turbines. It is scheduled for completion next year. CTE Wind made the foundation design for all WTGs trough his local office in Warsaw.

Since 2011 CTP – part of CTE Wind International – designed 777 WTG foundations for onshore power plants in Poland. CTPs office in Warsaw is responsible not only for Poland but also for all Baltic countries up to Kazakhstan. Commenting on the largest Polish project, Dariusz Krasowski, CEO and engineer of CTP, said: « We are delighted to have played an important role in this project. This shows the confidence of our customers in our designs and is also an encouragement for us to continue to perform well. »

If you want to learn more about CTE Wind International you can read more articles about projects and news in OUR-PROJECTS & OUR-NEWS – sections.
For more Information about OUR-SERVICES please CONTACT US.

About CTE Wind International

CTE Wind is an international engineering consulting firm specialized in the analysis and design of onshore wind turbine foundations. The company is active in the wind energy sector since 2003. Over the last 16 years CTE Wind calculated foundations for 15’000 turbines in 61 countries. CTE Wind has offices in France (HQ), Brazil, Asia, Poland, Portugal, Ireland and in Spain.

If you want to learn more about CTE Wind International you can read more articles about projects and news in OUR-PROJECTS & OUR-NEWS – sections. For more Information about OUR-SERVICES please CONTACT US.