wind farm civils ltd brochure
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Wind Farm Civils Ltd BrochureTRANSCRIPT
Civil Contractors to the Wind Farm Industry
Civil Contractors to the Wind Farm Industry
About Wind Farm Civils
Wind Farm Civils was established in 2003 in Galway, Ireland. Operating as a specialist civil engineering company, we are primarily involved in the management, supervision and construction of wind farm projects. With a combined experience of over 40 years in the industry our two directors, Michael Du�y and Michael O’Kee�e, bring a wealth of commercial, project management and on-the-ground construction knowledge to the company. The company aims to produce the highest quality work within strict health, safety and environmental standards. Since Wind Farm Civils was established we have completed a large number of civil contracts on wind farm projects both in Ireland and the UK. These contracts include the casting of concrete wind turbine foundations for turbine manufactures such as Enercon, GE, Gamesa and Vestas. Our contracts range from the construction of site access roads to full design and build projects.
We pride ourselves on our �exible, energetic approach and we strive to form lasting working relationships with our clients. Having worked with many of the main wind farm developers and turbine manufactures in Ireland and the UK, Wind Farm Civils is well respected and regarded as a key competitor in the wind farm civil engineering market.
Environmental, Health & Safety
Wind Farm Civils have extensive safety & environmental management experience of onshore wind farm construction projects in both Ireland and the United Kingdom. In managing safety of our projects, Wind Farm Civils have signi�cant experience in delivering completed infrastructure without any reportable accidents. This is achieved by top level support by our Senior Management Team and an acutely safety conscious workforce. Our skilled inter-disciplinary project team focuses on managing safety at all times, and ensures key decisions consider risk & working safely.
We are proud of our environmental, health and safety record and continue to develop policies and procedures that endorse it.
Quality
Wind Farm Civils is committed to quality and service. We recognise that quality of design, construction, delivery and service is paramount to all our clients. All of the services we deliver are of a high standard and achieve or surpass our client’s requirements. We believe that performance monitoring is essential in ensuring continuous improvements throughout duration of any project. Regular audits to monitor compliance and generate improvements to our Quality Management System are carried out as well as regular training programmes to ensure our organisation is familiar with emerging practices, standards and procedures relative to quality improvement.
Services
The main services provided by Wind Farm Civils are:-
• Earth works and site drainage• Construction of site access roads, both ground bearing and �oating over peatland and mountainous terrain • Large concrete turbine foundation construction including steel �xing, earthing and shuttering • Hard stand platforms for cranes up to 750 tonnes • Cable trenching / Interconnectors • Substation building construction• Full project management service with site supervision• Health, Safety and Environmental services for construction and turbine erection• Design and Build• Balance of Plant contracts
Earthworks & Drainage
The earthworks and drainage works required for the construction of a wind farm can be quite complex and are often overlooked. Evidence of this can be found where poor assessment, planning and experience along with numerous other factors, have led to mass peat slides on wind farm sites both in Ireland and the UK. Through our experience and training in this area Wind Farm Civils can mitigate the risk of peat slides on our client’s sites. To achieve this, we strictly follow our company policies and our site speci�c “Peat Risk Management Plan”.
With regard to peat slides and the contamination of watercourses, Wind Farm Civils maintain a zero incident rate. It is always our intention to carry out our work to the complete satisfaction of our clients whilst having the least impact possible on delicate and sensitive sites.
We often engage with specialist consultants, at our own cost, to ensure that we minimise all potential hazards.
Above: Drainage works in peat bog, Caherdowney Wind Farm, Millstreet, Co. Cork.
Above: Wind turbine foundation excavation at Slieveragh Wind Farm, Ballylanders, Co. Limerick.
Below: Drainage through a road, Caherdowney Wind Farm, Millstreet, Co. Cork.
Below: 10,000m3 Excavation for a substation compound at Grouselodge Wind Farm, near Shanagolden, Co. Limerick.
Road & Crane Hardstand ConstructionNo wind farm is functional without a means of access provided for construction, turbine erection and maintenance. Therefore it is necessary to construct suitable site access roads that are strong and durable to handle the intense heavy tra�c during the construction stage and be capable of providing safe access for the lifetime of the wind farm. At Wind Farm Civils we pride ourselves on having the experience and ability to construct site access roads in all types of ground conditions. We have built roads in many challenging locations, especially in deep peat bogs, in which many of the wind farms in Ireland and the UK are constructed. We have built several kilometres of �oating roads in deep bog environment to date that are strong enough to withstand the passing of 500T and 750T mobile cranes used to erect the turbine. The roads are tested by independent geotechnical engineers in advance of the arrival of heavy cranage.
Michael O’Kee�e, Contracts Director of Wind Farm Civils, has upwards of 25 years hands-on experience of constructing forestry access roads in all manner of ground conditions and we believe this experience provides Wind Farm Civils with a distinct advantage in this area. Clients and �nancial institutions want the reassurance that risk will be mitigated on their projects, by utilizing an experienced civils contractor on wind farm work.
Below: Access road to Sherragh Wind Farm, Buncrana, Co. Donegal.
Above: 2,300m of new site access roads (with crane hardstands), 900m of which are �oating roads over deep peat bog. Flughland Wind Farm, near Buncrana, Co. Donegal.
Below: Constructing a �oating road with geo-textile, geo-grid and imported stone, Caherdowney Wind Farm, Millstreet, Co. Cork.
Concrete Wind Turbine Foundation The foundations for wind turbines are a critical element of wind farm developments. Each turbine manufacturer has their own speci�c type of foundation, but there are a few key elements that are common to all foundations:Mass concrete (from 100-800m3), Reinforcement (from 10-80 tonnes), Basket assembly or Can (weighing up to 10 tonnes) cast accurately into the foundation to connect to the turbine tower. Wind Farm Civils have experience in constructing a variety of foundation designs for international turbine manufacturers such as Vestas, Enercon, Gamesa and GE.
When constructing wind turbine foundations, quality control is of the highest importance. During the construction period the reinforcement is meticulously checked against the plans to con�rm that all the bars are placed and tied correctly. At all times, the design level of the Basket or Can (whichever is speci�ed) is checked to comply with the minute tolerances set out in the speci�cation. Finally, when it comes to pouring the concrete, Wind Farm Civils ensure that the concrete is placed and compacted correctly. The pour is managed e�ciently, so that there are no delays in concrete supply and everything runs smoothly on the day. After each pour the foundation is protected against the elements to allow the concrete to cure prop-erly, thus preventing surface and thermal cracking, and ensuring a quality product is delivered to the client.
Below: Detailed steel �xing through an Enercon E70 can section. Strath of Brydock Wind Farm, Ban�, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Above: Pouring 440m3 of concrete to one of �fteen Enercon E70 turbine foundations at Castledockrell Wind Farm, near Bunclody, Co. Wexford.
Below: Setting out steel for an Enercon E70 turbine foundation, Sherragh Wind Farm, Buncrana, Co. Donegal.
Above: Finished concrete at Bearna Gaoithe Wind Farm, Shillelagh, Co. Wicklow.
Substation Buildings & Cable Trenching
Wind Farm Civils construct substation buildings to the high speci�cation set out by electricity providers. We ensure that all elements of the substation build are constructed to the highest quality.
Cable trenching is an essential part of wind farm projects. It serves to carry the cabling from the turbines to the substa-tion, where it can connect to the electricity grid. Wind Farms Civils have experience of providing cable trenching in di�erent ground conditions, crossing waterways and roads on various wind farms. We have completed a number of interconnectors between the wind farm and the grid connection point along public roads and private lands, which often involved delicate negotiation with various parties.
Should it be required, Wind Farm Civils can provide design services for substation buildings.
Below: Cable trenching works at Flughland Wind Farm, Buncrana, Co. Donegal.
Above: 20KV Substation building at Kilvinane Wind Farm, Dunmanway, Co. Cork.
Below: Cable trenching at Kilvinane Wind Farm, Dunmanway, Co. Cork.
Below: Construction of 20KV substation at Flughland Wind Farm, Buncrana, Co. Donegal.
For further information please visit our website -www.windfarmcivils.com
Group Head O�ce -Wind Farm Civils Ltd,Block 12,Galway Technology Park,Parkmore, Galway,Ireland.
T: 00-353-91-70-55-44F: 00-353-91-70-55-45E: [email protected]
UK O�ce -Wind Farm Civils (UK) Ltd,Arden Hall,66 Brooklands Road,Sale, Manchester,M33 3SJ, United Kingdom.
T: 00-44-161-905-1183F: 00-44-161-962-0677E: [email protected]
Polish O�ce -Wind Farm Civils Polska Sp.z.o.o,RBC,ul. Sw. Mikolaja 7,50-125,Wroclaw,Poland.
T: 00-48-71-7124260 F: 00-48-71-7124261 E: [email protected]
Cover Photos -
Front top: Flughland Wind Farm, Buncranna, Co. Donegal.Front bottom: Castledockrell Wind Farm, Bunclody, Co. Wexford.Back top left: Carrig Wind Farm, Co. Tipperary.Back top right: Slieveragh Wind Farm, Ballylanders, Co. Limerick.