Case study
Cleve Hill electrical compound.
Foundation works for the electrical-infrastructure compound at one of the UK's largest solar projects. 1,000+ helical piles supporting switchgear, transformer platforms and cable-routing structures.
The challenge
The Cleve Hill Solar Park in Kent is among the largest consented solar developments in the UK. The electrical compound houses switchgear, transformer platforms and grid-connection infrastructure: heavy static loads on variable ground.
Concrete foundations would have required dewatering and curing time. The project team needed high-capacity foundations without the wet-trades programme penalty.
Our approach
Helicasol manufactured and installed the helical-pile foundations for the entire electrical compound: transformer plinths, cable-tray supports, security fencing.
Pile geometry matched to the load case at each foundation point: heavier sections beneath transformers and switchgear, lighter ones for fencing and ancillary structures. Design coordinated with the project's electrical and structural teams direct from drawings.
Installation
We installed over 1,000 helical piles inside the programme window, with no wet-concrete pours, no dewatering and no curing time to wait on.
Site-specific wrinkle: Kent took heavy bombing in WW2, so every pile position had to be UXO-scanned before drilling. No-go spots marked, holes re-routed where needed. A 1944 unexploded bomb is not the surprise you want under your rotary head.
Results
The electrical compound was foundation-complete on schedule. First UK reference at this MW scale for an electrical compound on helical piles.
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