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®

From 27 to 30 September 2022, Hamburg will become an energy hub for the world. For four days, at WindEnergy Hamburg everything at the trade show site will revolve around generating energy from wind and its exploitation.

CTE Wind partecipates in Hamburg with an own stand.

Leading business and union representatives provided diverse insights into all areas of the industry, with plenty of facts and figures. So as to cover the huge impending need for renewable energies, they highlighted the significance of personal exchange and knowledge transfer on an equal footing between industry, research institutions and policy

SCHEDULE A MEETING

Alexander MARTIN CEO of CTE Wind International, along with the country Managers, engineering team and sales representatives of de CTE Wind offices worldwide will attend at the largest renewables conference dedicated to the wind energy market in Europe and all over the world. This is an excellent opportunity for interested companies to meet our sales team, learn more about CTE Wind’s expertise in civil engineering and foundations and discuss future collaborations..

Do not hesitate to contact us to organize a meeting.
See you soon in Hamburg.

Contact-us

CTE Wind commissioned the Spanish University of Burgos to carry out a series of tests with the Soft-Spot™^®. The structural tests are intended to prove once again if and how the resource-saving wind turbine foundation solution for “onshore” wind turbines works.

Burgos (ESP)/La Richardais (FRA) – The University of Burgos was entrusted with testing the patented Soft-Spot™^® foundation solution from CTE Wind Civil Engineering for its functioning and safety at the end of 2021. The results of the test campaign, which ended at the end of May, confirmed what had already been demonstrated from many certification bodies worldwide and in various finite element models (FEM): The Soft-Spot™^® works and is safe.

Gapping occurs later

The Soft-Spot™^® changes the stress distribution on the ground compared to a standard slab foundation. Due to central EPS soft layer, higher soil stresses are applied under the remaining ring.

As a result, a wind turbine with a Soft-Spot™^® foundation will gap much later than a foundation without a soft layer, with the same foundation diameter. This increases the stability.

Over 1000 wind turbines…

…use the Soft-Spot™^® worldwide. The first project with the patented CTE Wind solution has been in place in 2019 in Thailand in a wind farm with 60 turbines. Each turbine has a hub height of 157 meters. Originally, a shallow foundation with 1,192 cubic meters of concrete and a diameter of 27.4 meters was planned.

But the excavation was not allowed to exceed more than 25 meters diagonally. Thanks to the soft layer under the foundation, the diameter could be reduced to 24.5 meters; minus 210 cubic meters of concrete (-18 percent) and 11 tons of reinforcing steel (-9 percent). The certifying body of DNV in Hamburg ensured that everything proceeded correctly and according to international standards during the design phase.

About CTE Wind Civil Engineering and the Soft-Spot™^®

The Soft-Spot™^® was developed by the French company CTE Wind Civil Engineering SAS. CTE Wind is an international engineering company specializing in the design and calculation of onshore foundations for wind turbines. The solution optimizes the existing and well-functioning system of shallow foundations by integrating known knowledge from structural engineering. Thus, a soft layer (EPS) is simply placed under the center of the foundation so that the forces of the wind turbine are transferred into the ground in a ring shape instead of onto the entire surface.

CTE Wind USA will exhibts for the first time at Cleanpower exhibition in Salt Lake City, UT. The event will be held on December 7 – 8, 2021 at the Salt Palace Convention Center. The motto of the exposition is Accelerating the Energy Transition.

ARRANGE A MEETING NOW

CTE Wind USA CEO Alexander MARTIN and Director of Operations and Engineerin Jomâa BEN HASSINE will attend the most important exposition in the Western Hemisphere to discuss about key trends of wind energy market in Nort America and world wide.
This is a great opportunity for interested companies and experts to meet our dedicated management and sales team to learn more about CTE Wind’s civil engineering and foundation expertise and to talk about future business opportunities.

Please do not hesitate to write us to arrange a meeting.
We are looking forward to meeting you in Salt Lake, UT.
LINK TO CONTACT

If you want to learn more about CTE Wind USA and CTE Winds SOLUTIONS please visite OUR-PROJECTS & OUR-NEWS – sections. For more Information about OUR-SERVICES please CONTACT US.

After our DNV certification in Germany, a high level technical review of the SOFT-SPOT™ solution has been done by DNV in the United States. Our experience shows that the Soft-Spot solution saves between 5 and 25 percent of foundation concrete, in addition to excavation volume reductions.

Resource and cost-saving design

Our experience shows that the SOFT-SPOT™ solution saves between 5 and 25 percent of foundation concrete, in addition to excavation volume reductions. These savings represent a significant reduction of the Levelized Cost of Energy as well as reductions of the carbon footprint of wind energy.

If you want to learn more about CTE Wind USA and CTE Winds SOLUTIONS please visite OUR-PROJECTS & OUR-NEWS – sections. For more Information about OUR-SERVICES please CONTACT US.

Pecos Wind Power has the ability to connect end-users across industries and applications to clean, low cost wind power generated in their own backyard. CTE Wind USA calculated three WTG foundation design solutions. Additionally, CTE Wind provided the geotechnical study and construction support.

If you want to learn more about CTE Wind USA and CTE Winds SOLUTIONS please visite OUR-PROJECTS & OUR-NEWS – sections. For more Information about OUR-SERVICES please CONTACT US.

CTE Wind designed the deep foundation and anchor cage for a NRG Patagonia wind turbine in Argentina. The 1.5 MW will help Castelli, a town with 10,000 residents, to grow their sustainable energy production.

Buenos Aires (ARG) – Although Argentina’s wind energy has been on hold for a while, there still is a demand for wind industry specialists such as CTE Wind to extend expertise on wind projects. Our sister company, CTE Wind Ibérica, received an interesting request from the Cooperativa de Electricidad Castelli (CUECCA) for a wind energy project located 185 km from the city of Buenos Aires. The cooperative’s main goal is to grow sustainable energy production in Castelli, a smaller town with about 10,000 residents. In striving to meet its goals, CUECCA moved forward to install a 1.5 MW wind turbine from the local WTG manufacturer NRG Patagonia (NRGP).

CTE Wind has been selected by NRGP for the foundation design. Due to the unique soil conditions, a deep foundation with piles was designed. CTE Wind also contributed the optimized design of the anchor cage, providing substantial savings in steel reinforcement. Enrique MARTINEZ, Commercial Manager of CTE Wind Ibérica said: « We are thrilled to work on this project. Even if it is a small project, we want to find the best possible solution for the customer. »

Design and construction in due time

Recently, an important project milestone has been reached: breaking ground and the beginning of the foundation construction. « Every step has been done in due time. This is also one of the reasons why customers keep coming back to CTE Wind», added MARTINEZ.

The 82m rotor for CUECCA´s NRGP 82 was unloaded not long ago in the Port of Zarate, Argentina. The rotor was manufactured in the US. The 82 is the tallest model so far from NRGP with a hub height of 80 meters and a rotor diameter of 82 meters. Soon 4,000 households of Castelli will enjoy green energy from their own wind turbine.

If you want to learn more about CTE Wind International and CTE Winds SOLUTIONS please visite OUR-PROJECTS & OUR-NEWS – sections. For more Information about OUR-SERVICES please CONTACT US.

Foundation piles transfer dynamic turbine loads to lower-lying ground, thereby providing overall support to the foundation and the turbine tower. Geotechnical and soil-structure interaction expertise is a must for designing wind turbine foundation piles. CTE Wind designed piles with lengths varying from 10 to 70 meters.

Foundation piles transfer loads from the wind turbine foundation to lower-lying ground, thereby providing overall support to the structure. These piles carry concentrated loads and are subject to fatigue. As such, careful assessment of geotechnical conditions and proper interpretation of the soil reports’ drilling logs and laboratory data are critical, which is why CTE Wind has senior geotechnical engineers working on wind farm projects worldwide.

CTE Wind’s pile foundation designs include driven, bored and drilled piles, as well as vibro and Franki piles. Once a pile solution has been selected as most appropriate for the site conditions, the number, lengths and diameters of the piles are determined based on the stiffness of piles and the loads to be carried. Piles are designed

Piles for intertidal nearshore foundations

In recent projects, CTE Wind has designed pile foundations with lengths varying from 10 to 70 meters. The latter, 70-meter pile foundations were designed and built in Asia in different nearshore projects on an intertidal sea-zone. CTE Wind also provided pile designs in Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Brazil, Serbia, Ukraine, Russia, and Finland to name a few.

If you want to learn more about CTE Wind International and CTE Winds PILE FOUNDATIONS please visite OUR-PROJECTS & OUR-NEWS – sections. For more Information about OUR-SERVICES please CONTACT US.

The most common foundation scenario for concrete towers features a cellar. Since 2010, CTE Wind has provided foundation solutions for concrete towers in different variants. One such foundation solution is the hollow foundation solution.

One critical factor to be considered in a wind farm project is the type of wind turbine tower.  There are primarily two categories of wind turbine towers available in the market: tubular steel and concrete. The mix of both types is a hybrid tower. Independent from the selected tower system, the increased prevalence of higher hub heights leads to larger tower bases which challenges the tower manufacturers to develop new solutions or systems.

In addition to the various pros and cons of tubular steel versus concrete to be considered, the choice of the tower has an impact on the foundation. A steel tower nowadays almost always comes with an anchor cage. On the other hand, concrete towers need a tensioning system usually using cables anchored in the foundation. CTE Wind Civil Engineering has provided solutions for concrete towers in different variants for the last 11 years and counting.

Let us take a closer look at the different parts of the foundation:

Foundation design of the outer shape

Like the toes and the ball of your feet, the outer shape prevents the wind turbine from tipping over. The foundation for concrete towers can be designed as standard gravity or deep foundation with piles. To save resources, CTE Winds Soft-Spot™  solution (patent pending) or a ribbed (star) foundation could also be applied. Moreover, working with different tower manufacturers requires consideration for further variable construction criteria. CTE Wind is specialized in its knowledge and experience in factoring in said variables, such as the pre-stressed or post-tensioned cable system.

The foundation from inside

The most common foundation scenario from the inside point of view features a cellar where cables are anchored and cable tensioning tools are placed. This kind of solution is often referred to as a “Hollow Foundation Solution” as shown in the picture. This design has a cellar to allow for access into the foundation and to tension the anchor cables of the tower. The reinforcement design for the hollow foundation solution is also substantially different from that of standard gravity foundations. Besides the customized interior formwork, special attention has to be paid to the design of the anchoring bulkheads where concentrated loads are applied to the concrete in very limited spaces.

Another option to anchor the tower to the foundation is to install protruding bolts out of the pedestal and into the tower where the cables can be connected. In this solution, the cellar is not necessary. The bolts are easy to access for tensioning. Lastly, and more seldomly used, is the combination of the concrete tower and foundation into a monolithic structure where only classic reinforcements are used but no tensioning elements are needed.  This type of solution can unfortunately lead to concrete cracks at the bottom tower section.

If you want to learn more about CTE Wind International and CTE Winds CONCRETE TOWER SOLUTIONS please visite OUR-PROJECTS & OUR-NEWS – sections. For more Information about OUR-SERVICES please CONTACT US.

Experts in Foundation Design

From 1 to 12 MW wind turbines

According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance in 2019 developers worldwide have globally
commissioned a little over 45GW of onshore wind turbines. CTE Wind designed, valueengineered
or peer-reviewed foundations close to 1,500 WTG-foundations around the globe,
which represents around 5 GW of the installed onshore wind energy in 2019. A good result
for the 30 engineers working together worldwide. CTE Wind is an international engineering
consulting firm, headquartered in France, and specialized in the analysis and design of
onshore wind turbine foundations. Its engineering services lead to inventive foundation
solutions for wind turbines. In Rotterdam, they have designed the foundation for GE’s giant
12 MW Haliade X. But they are also with familiar with smaller 1 MW machines carried by
wooden towers. «Thanks to our experienced civil, structural and geotechnical senior
engineers the design of those wind turbine foundations worldwide are only a little challenge
to us», said Alexander MARTIN, CEO of CTE Wind International, «regardless if it is for new
turbine models from the top manufacturers or less common WTG-models from smaller or
local manufacturers», he added.

Biggest wind park in France, Poland and Spain

The sum of all experiences made since 2003 is the reason why CTE Wind’s engineering
team with offices in Brazil, Poland, Portugal, Spain, USA and Asia are often the first
choice for OEMS, wind park developers and EPC/BoP contractors. «That is how we
achieved to do over 17,500 wind turbines in 67 countries and without any failures», continues
MARTIN. One of CTE Winds main goals is to deliver foundation designs that optimizes the
use of resources and help to save concrete and reinforcement steel. Such a solution is the
patented SOFT-SPOT®, a gravity foundation with a soft layer under the anchor cage. Each
project receives an adapted design solution to the specific soil conditions. In Finland CTE
Wind designed a rock anchor solution when its engineers also designed a near-shore
foundation in Asias Mekong-Delta. «The trust of our customers leads us not only to
design special and new solutions but also the foundations for the biggest wind parks in
France, Spain and Poland. We are thrilled when we can play an important role in a wind farm
project. This shows the confidence of our customers in our designs and is also an
encouragement for us to continue to perform well», he ends.