Axel Jacobs

Windplanblauw is located on the north-east side of Flevoland in the area of Swifterbant and Dronten. This is where Vattenfall, in cooperation with SwifterwinT and Molenrak B.V. is realizing Windplanblauw. The plan involves the replacement of 74 old wind turbines for 61 new ones, which are larger and more powerful. The project consists of two parts, namely the onshore part consisting of 37 wind turbines supplied by Vestas type EnVentus 5.6MW, and 24 wind turbines located in the IJsselmeer (Nearshore) supplied by GE, type Cypress 5.5MW. Operationally, the entire wind farm will have a capacity of about 340MW, enough yield the electricity consumption of 450,000 households (about 1.0mln people).WindplanBlauw consist out of 5 contracts namely:1. Contract WTG supplier Onshore2. BOP Onshore3. WTG Supplier Nearshore4. BOP Nearshore5. SubstationWindBase was involved in all the contracts, which included:1. Contract WTG supplier Onshore, Qa/Qc of the coatings, Welding of the tower, and the stairs but also problems which occurred during the lifting process..2. BOP Onshore, Active assessment of the design, risk controlled design review but also on the work method plans, maintenance plans and inspection plans3. WTG Supplier Nearshore, visiting tower fabrication process, QA/Qc steel towers and coating inspections4. BOP Nearshore, Engineering Bases of design, Active assessment of the design and risk controlled design review en inspections during construction.5. Substation Active assessment of the design, risk controlled design review but also on the work method plans, maintenance plans and inspection plans

Wind Farm Castle is an onshore wind farm located in South Africa and is executed in 2023 and 2024. The project consists of 16 wind turbines with a hub height of 110 m and a rotor diameter of 165 m. The rated power per turbine is 6.0 MW and the rated total power is 96 MW. The turbines have been provided by Goldwind. Consultancy Windbase engineering of the foundation and Quality Control on site. Further details are mentioned below.

Wind Farm Oostpolderdijk is a wind farm located in The Netherlands completed in 2021. The project consists of 3 turbines with a hub height of 98 m and a rotor diameter of 100 m. The rated power per turbine is 2.5 MW and the rated total power is 7.5 MW. The turbines have been provided by Lagerwey. Further details are mentioned below.Hub height: 98 mIEC: Number of turbines: 3Rated power per turbine: 2.5 MWTurbine supplier: LagerweyType: Onshore TurbineTip height: 148 mRotor diameter: 100 mRated power total: 7.5 MW

Greater understanding of what really matters to the client Question: what is the best integral design for wind turbine tower and foundation? Can the stiffness requirement be made less stringent? And if so, what is the effect on the foundation? How much excess capacity is there really? Windbase parametric and data-driven design provides a broad understanding of what the real demands must be. And 10 million foundation designs that show every possible detail. Chris van der Ploeg (right on photo), computational design specialist, explains: "We are no longer looking for one single solution, but we advise clients on possibilities, influencing factors and sensitivity of solutions. Parametric designs allow us to create mathematical models of wind turbine foundations at different levels of reliability. New about this is the automated, data-driven and repetitive process. What do we see? By including all questions at the start, we do not have to make adjustments afterwards. That approach speeds up the design process. For the client, too." Study for Vattenfall Commissioned by energy company Vattenfall, Windbase conducted a comprehensive study to investigate effects of tower design requirements on the foundation design. Chris: “We used a big data approach to consider all potentially relevant variants, both geotechnical and structural. Data visualizations provided insight into the impact of various design parameters on feasibility, cost and sustainability. Together we tried to find the best integral design of tower and foundation. This step included discussing supplier requirements. One question we reflected on was whether a less stringent stiffness requirement could lead to a more optimal combination of tower and foundation, in terms of money and durability." The study was conducted in close cooperation with the client. Fifteen different locations and five types of wind turbines were reviewed. The data were visualized in interactive dashboards. In interactive design meetings, we showed Vattenfall the consequences and feasibilities of design options. We also showed the weight of criteria in relation to impact. Accelerated design process Chris: "The insights gained may lead to different choices than those that seemed obvious at the start. All possible solutions are taken to the meeting instead of taking back questions to the design table. The interactive, joint selection process gives us a better understanding of what really matters to the client and gives us the opportunity to advise. Our innovative approach to data-driven design facilitates evidence-based decision making. This provides an early insight into cost and feasibility. And it provides more sustainable, efficient and optimized designs." Windbase has been an innovator of optimal turbine foundations for 40 years. Director Axel Jacobs (left on photo): "In this world with increasing pressure to use less material, we dare to be pioneers. Our advanced design methods and a data-driven, integrated approach do not always make things easy for us. But we think it is well worth the effort. After all, our goal is to get a more sustainable world."