Almita Piling M N U Renewable Energy Renewable Energy Industry Applications Solar Panel Bases Substations / Inverter Modules Wind Turbines Hydroelectric Geo-Thermal Overcome your project's obstacles Industry Specific Challenge Almita's Solution Wind and frost put uplift forces on racking and panels Because of the embedded helix, helical piles provide superior resistance to uplift forces as compared to any other foundation method Wind turbine foundations are subject to high moment forces traditionally requiring extremely large concrete slab bases Helical piles provide resistance to the high moment uplift forces and result in a large reduction of concrete needed for the base. When using steel piles under the concrete base, helical piles typically result in reduced embedment depths versus driven piles due to superior uplift capacity. High install speed is needed to ensure tight construction schedules Helical piles have a high install speed in solar applications, and regularly meet and often exceed schedule projections. Expensive to get concrete to remote areas Helical piles can be used throughout a solar project eliminating the need for concrete. Case Study | Utility Scale Solar Project Biosar-Aurora Solar, Minneapolis, MN Situation: Biosar America LLC was contracted by Enel Green Power North America to work on 16 different project sites in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area. The client needed foundations for inverter cabins on this 150 MW solar project as well as foundations and poles for their network of CCTV cameras. The project faced a compressed schedule from initial contact to scheduled project completion, and geotechnical reports indicated many of the sites contained soil that was filled with cobbles. Initially, Almita’s role on this project was limited to supplying the necessary helical piles. Solution: Despite originally being a pile supply only job, Almita’s experience with other solar projects convinced the client that Almita was the right company to handle both the supply and install. Almita proposed a very cost effective solution to supply and install both the foundations and poles for the CCTV cameras. These were originally intended for concrete, but Almita provided a cost saving solution for this client resulting in the switch. Geotechnical Analysis indicated that some extensions would be needed, and Almita used a bolted coupler design for faster installation. To address cobbles in the soil, piles were custom designed with smaller diameter helixes and the helix thickness, and helix thickness was also increased from 1/2" to 3/4" to handle rock encounters. Results: The client had never used helical piles for their previous solar projects, but had an excellent experience working with Almita. We were able to mobilize within one week from contract award to ensure that the client’s schedule was met. Our experienced site staff were able to identify soils challenges on site and were able to identify which helix diameter would work best in which locations. “We'll save your time, your money and your project.” Let's talk about your project Why Almita Why Helical Piles Remote Desktop Webmail Find an External Installer External Installer Resources Oil & Gas Renewable Energy Residential & Municipal Commercial & Institutional Structures Power Transmission & Distribution Head Office: Almita Piling Edmonton 115, 625 Parsons Road SW Edmonton, Alberta T6X 0N9 Toll-Free: +1 (800) 363-4868 E-mail: info@almita.com Ontario Office: 383 Elmira Road North Guelph, ON N1K 1H3 Phone: 519-767-2081 E-mail: ontarioestimating@almita.com Offices Ponoka, AB Saskatoon, SK Guelph, ON Denver, CO Almita Piling Inc. © 2021 Privacy Policy | Legal