Laying the foundations for wind and solar projects

The right site and the proper foundations.

There are many considerations when designing a renewables project: site selection, environmental impacts, proper foundation design, groundwater management, seismic risk, geohazards, and more.

Thurber offers specialized electrical and thermal resistivity testing for our clients. Electrical resistivity testing measures the soil's ability to dissipate electrical charges, which is crucial for grounding systems. Thermal resistivity testing determines the soil's ability to conduct heat. This is crucial for ground-mounted solar photovoltaics because the soil's thermal properties can affect performance.

Thurber has worked for many solar and wind clients: BluEarth, Borea Construction, Capital Power, Skyflo Consulting Ltd., Acciona, and Renewable Energy Systems Canada to address the ground-related challenges related to renewables projects.

We provide:

• Geotechnical site investigation
• Desktop studies for feasibility assessments and preliminary route/site selections
• Soil electrical and thermal resistivity testing in-situ and in the laboratory
• Foundation engineering for shallow and deep foundations
• Pile load testing
• Advanced geotechnical and materials laboratory testing
• Geohazard and slope assessment and mitigation
• Seismic site assessment
• Sulphate and corrosivity testing for soil and groundwater
• Access road and crane pad design
• Transmission structure and cable trench design
• Concrete cement type recommendations
• Environmental site assessments
• Site remediation
• Hydrogeology and groundwater analysis
• Construction support