Royal Haskoning DHV (RHDHV) will design the foundation for the world’s biggest wind turbine, GE’s Haliade-X 12MW prototype machine.
The Danish engineering outfit said it was chosen due to its extensive experience in wind turbine foundation design plus a good knowledge of geotechnical challenges.
GE and the Future Wind consortium, a joint venture between Pondera Development and Sif, decided to build the Haliade-X 12MW prototype at Maasvlakte (pictured) in the port of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.
The turbine will be located at the premises of Dutch monopile maker Sif.
The prototype will be tested on shore to make it easier to monitor the turbine and access the turbine.
The Haliade-X 12MW turbine will have a rotor-diameter of over 200 metres.
According to RHDHV the main challenges are the prototype’s size, corresponding forces and its location, as the foundation will be built on soft sandy soil in a dam.
RHDHV says its design, based on a piled foundation, with a large concrete block on top, will stand up to the forces created by the 260 metre-high structure.
The concrete structure will have a 28 metre diameter, 4 metres in thickness at its centre.
“Our team delivered an effective design that met the technical requirements without over-dimensioning,” said RHDHV.
The 12MW turbine will be installed in the summer. A nacelle is being manufactured at GE’s Saint-Nazaire plant and blades at LM Wind Power’s Cherbourg facility, both in France, while the tower is being fabricated in Spain.