The challenges of the world titans of wind power

The wind energy industry’s growth, focused on improving the economic and power yields, shows global onshore wind turbine size increasing steadily over the past decade. A while ago, the current onshore size ones were only considered for offshore markets…but nowadays they enter into onshore reality. Latest WTG models entering the market attain hub heights of over 150m. Therefore, all stakeholders are facing challenging tasks when dealing with these huge wind turbines, especially including foundations. Optimizing the slabs to reduce both concrete and steel has become one of the main objectives of foundation design engineering experts. The principle of “the bigger the turbine, the bigger the foundation” is no longer a valid response, so the industry requires innovative solutions to face this issue. Using standard foundation design solutions means duplicating the size and materials quantity to withstand the colossal loads which we seek to avoid.

Deeply committed with the wind industry development, CTE WIND has participated in projects involving the latest turbine models from various OEMs in LATAM (the biggest ever designed for Mexico and Chile) and in Southern Asia (also among the huge ones in Thailand and Vietnam) corresponding to steel/concrete towers. The extensive experience acquired in 15+ years in the industry and project references in 51 countries allowed the company, through a R&D team, to propose innovative foundation solutions to optimize construction materials and reduce importantly associated costs. Last but no least, these solutions have been supported by the approval of the most recognized certification entities.

The company is heavily involved in projects located in emerging markets (Eastern Europe, Ukraine, Russia and Central Asia), steady markets (LATAM, India and Australia) and in traditional ones (Spain, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Scandinavia and the Balkans). This worldwide presence needs something else than an excellent technical expertise but comprehension of the markets and local idiosyncrasy. Taking into consideration a multicultural approach, CTE WIND’s staff is formed of 10 different nationalities and over 15 languages are spoken in our 7 offices worldwide, cumulating more than 100 years of total experience in wind industry. Therefore, CTE WIND is ready to support the new wind industry challenges worldwide.
Dante Arroyo