Buncrana wind farm is located on Clonglash Hill, approximately 5km east of Buncrana. The contract was to build a single E44 wind turbine foundation and a single E82 wind turbine foundation, both with associated drainage and lightening protection.

The construction of the E44 comprised excavation to formation, where a geotechnical engineer would inspect the formation to determine suitability. It was deemed necessary to excavate down a further 350mm to find a suitable formation. Once good ground was discovered, the levels were brought up to formation level by compacting imported stone in layers to achieve the specified foundation level as per the planning conditions.

Once level, the works progressed as standard where the ducts were installed and a 100mm blinding layer was laid, followed by steel fixing and installation of lightening protection and fixing of the shutters ready for the concrete pour. Once the concrete was poured as per Enercon’s guidelines and the concrete had cured for at least 48 hours, the shutters were stripped and the foundation inspected for honeycombing and surface cracks. Once the inspection was passed, drainage was installed and the foundation backfilled.

The construction of the E82 was very similar with the exception of the ground conditions. We encountered hard rock in the excavation and had to break out approximately 1000m3 of rock. Following achieving formation level the formation was inspected by the geotechnical engineer. Once the formation had been accepted, construction of the base continued as per the E44.