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About Helicasol

HELICASOL provides a completely unique service in Europe for large-scale solar farm projects. Our approach is to improve the ROI by optimizing every step of the construction process.


This is done by following the steps:


  1. Test piling to maximize the cost efficiency of the foundation
  2. Optimized foundation design by experienced engineers
  3. Manufacturing of helical pile according to the optimized design
  4. Design and manufacture of the custom solar panel frames
  5. Installation of the helical piles with more than 20 years of experience
  6. Installation of the custom solar panel frames

Solar farm projects are very large, and the effects of the optimization with smart design and execution can lead to savings up to 7 figures.

 

If you want to know more, please speak to one of our experts today, free of charge.


Tel. +358 45 676 6742 / info@helicasol.com

TYPICAL SOLAR FARM CHALLENGES

The solar farm industry is growing, but the processes for the construction phases are not developed, so the investors are experiencing a loss because of unoptimized solutions.

There is often a lack of knowledge on how to design and manufacture the foundations and the frames in the most cost-efficient way.

There is frequently a lack of communication between the involved parties (for example investors, project managers, foundation engineers, foundation providers, frame manufacturers, and installation team) which leads to errors in communication, increased costs, and operational risks.

6 COMMON CHALLENGES IN THE SOLAR FARM BUILDING PROCESS

Be smart, and avoid the risks brought by these challenges by contacting to HELICASOL?

Challenge #1

The land area is bought for a solar farm-project without considering the upcoming construction costs which are dependent on the quality of the soil.

Challenge #3

Foundation engineer with insufficient experience is selected for the job. Lack of experience is often a common problem especially when designing helical pile foundations, and it leads usually either to unnecessary costs or bad quality of the foundation. Designing helical pile foundations requires specific expertise. The wrong foundation sizing caused by the lack of experience can increase the project costs with sums of 6-7 figures.

Challenge #5

Manufacturing quality of the helical piles has not been paid enough attention to. The steel grade and the material thickness used in the piles needs to be optimized in the level where the quality of the piles is sufficient, but the cost as low as possible. To make a successful optimization, earlier experience in helical pile design and installation is the must.

Challenge #2

Frame for solar panels is selected without testing the soil first and before the foundation design. The number of foundations is usually considered to be depended on the model of the frame, which is not a cost-effective approach. Taking full advantage of soil performance allows more panels on fewer piles, and therefore significant cost-savings.

Challenge #4

Foundation engineer does not usually have the required data available (test piling report) to execute the most optimized foundation, which leads to unnecessary costs or poor foundation design.

Challenge #6

In case the helical piles are used as foundations, the installation is carried out by company which is lacking the experience in installing helical piles and knowledge of the optimal equipment. The installation is usually carried out by a different company that is executing the foundation design or manufacturing the foundations. The installation speed and quality suffers from lack of experience which causes unnecessary costs.

Challenge #1

The land area is bought for a solar farm-project without considering the upcoming construction costs which are dependent on the quality of the soil.

Challenge #2

Frame for solar panels is selected without testing the soil first and before the foundation design. The number of foundations is usually considered to be depended on the model of the frame, which is not a cost-effective approach. Taking full advantage of soil performance allows more panels on fewer piles, and therefore significant cost-savings.

Challenge #3

Foundation engineer with insufficient experience is selected for the job. Lack of experience is often a common problem especially when designing helical pile foundations, and it leads usually either to unnecessary costs or bad quality of the foundation. Designing helical pile foundations requires specific expertise. The wrong foundation sizing caused by the lack of experience can increase the project costs with sums of 6-7 figures.

Challenge #4

Foundation engineer does not usually have the required data available (test piling report) to execute the most optimized foundation, which leads to unnecessary costs or poor foundation design.

Challenge #5

Manufacturing quality of the helical piles has not been paid enough attention to. The steel grade and the material thickness used in the piles needs to be optimized in the level where the quality of the piles is sufficient, but the cost as low as possible. To make a successful optimization, earlier experience in helical pile design and installation is the must.

Challenge #6

In case the helical piles are used as foundations, the installation is carried out by company which is lacking the experience in installing helical piles and knowledge of the optimal equipment. The installation is usually carried out by a different company that is executing the foundation design or manufacturing the foundations. The installation speed and quality suffers from lack of experience which causes unnecessary costs.

SOLUTIONS FOR ALL PHASES OF THE PROJECT

Helicasol can provide the most comprehensive solar farm solutions that currently exist in the market.

 

Helical piles are the most cost-effective foundation for solar farms in almost every soil and Helicasol has the longest experience in using and manufacturing them.

 

The earlier HELICASOL is contacted during the project, the more benefits the client can achieve.

 

  1. Customized helical pile and frame manufacture leading to significant savings of money and time.
  2. Experience in Installation, equipment, and training.
  3. Testing, manufacture, and installation in one place.

Benefits for the client

  • Savings in the land purchase process
  • Reliability brought by accurate testing
  • Experience in the design work
  • Savings brought by optimized pile sizing
  • Reduction in the number of piles used
  • Enhanced frame design
  • Increased speed in pile installation process
  • Multiple services under one roof
  • Reduced project times
  • Improved risk management

Core Team

Tero Paunonen

Tero Paunonen

HELICAL PILE SOLUTIONS

Tero is a CEO of Paalupiste Oy, Europe´s oldest and most experienced helical pile manufacturer/installer with 21 years experience. Manufacturing premises in Finland and Portugal. Authorized dealers and installers in Finland, UK, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Sweden and Italy.

Tero is one of the founders of Paalupiste and has over 21 years of experience of Helical Piles, few hundred helical pile installations, projects and installations in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Czech, Germany, Spain, Portugal, UK, Belgium.

Ilkka Saramies

Ilkka Saramies

DESIGN

Ilkka Saramies (M.Sc.Eng., BEc) Ilkka has been working for 15 years with helical piles (including coauthoring the National piling code RIL 254-2016) and for 20 years in mechanical engineering.

Ilkka has been responsible for developing tools for helical pile sizing, testing and manufacturing together with Paalupiste Oy since 2008 and has trained engineers in helical pile design for most major engineering companies in Finland.

Jani Kuivas

Jani Kuivas

INSTALLATION

Jani has over 10 years of experience in helical pile installation mostly for infrastructure clients. During this time, there have been several hundreds of successful projects.

Jani has also a strong experience in electrical networks, infrastructure and foundation for over 10 years.

Robin Gamble

Robin Gamble

UK Representative

Robin is Helicasol's UK representative and has been operations manager at UKHelix for 5 years. In those years Robin has established strong networks in all the industries needed for large scale successful installations including plant hire and maintenance, logistics, experienced installers and expert engineers versed in deep foundations.