A kilowatt hour produced by an on-shore wind turbine is just as expensive as one produced by a coal-fired power plant. As a result, wind now has a fully-fledged position in the energy market, which is still dominated by fossil energy resources such as coal, gas and oil. On a global scale, numerous development plans for large-scale wind farms are awaiting realisation. This way, a more sustainable energy market and, consequently, a more sustainable society is gradually approaching.
The foundation of a wind turbine to be installed on land represents the most risky part of the entire building project. Whereas the superstructure – tower, blades and turbine – are manufactured like a kit, to be assembled at a later stage, each foundation is tailor-made for its particular location on land. After all, it needs to be customised according to the soil, which may be hard or soft, and the available space. Based on our knowledge of the soil and our expertise concerning concrete structures, we are able to design a slender foundation in which up to 35 percent less concrete and 70 percent less reinforcement is used compared to regular versions. This way, ABT contributes to the increased sustainability of wind energy projects, since concrete and steel are energy-intensive raw materials resulting in high CO2 emissions. These cost savings also have a favourable effect on the financing of wind turbine construction.
