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For project developers

Know the site. Know the solution. Know the CAPEX.

Foundations make up 10–15 % of solar CAPEX, and they're usually the line item with the widest variance going into financing. Site-specific test piling tightens that range from ±20–40 % to ±5–10 %, so the figures hold up under bank and investor scrutiny.

Engineered for Nordic ground

A foundation that holds through every spring.

Spring 2026 surfaced foundation failures across Nordic solar parks: racks tilted, modules broke, sites that handed over fine last year are being retrofitted at the developer's cost. The fix is below the frost line. Helicasol anchors the helix plate in stable ground year-round and sizes each pile — length, diameter, helix — to the actual soil. The foundation cost you take to the bank still holds when the park is operational.

The three unknowns

Foundation is the first major risk in every solar development.

Foundation = 10–15 % of CAPEX, but it's the first major engineering unknown. Three sub-questions a desk report cannot close. On a €10 M foundation scope, ±20–40 % leaves €2–4 M of variance still on the table when financing closes.

01

Feasibility · Can this site be built on?

Peat, soft clay, perched water and frost-affected fill can pass a soil survey but still stop a project. The answer only comes from piles in the ground.

02

Solution · Which foundation works where?

Across 100+ ha, ground rarely behaves uniformly. Suppliers with a single product give biased answers. We deliver both helical and rammed C-profile and recommend the one your ground actually wants.

03

Budget · And what does it really cost?

Generic assumptions run ±20–40 % off actual cost. On a €10 M scope that's €2–4 M of uncertainty — enough to make a financial model unfit for bank scrutiny.

What we deliver

From soil response to signed CAPEX.

Measured, not modelled

Compression, tension and lateral test piles installed on your site. Soil response is read from the piles themselves, not inferred from regional averages.

From measured capacity to budget

Pile geometry is sized against measured capacity, then the foundation is priced as a whole. Because the design is built on actual ground response — not regional averages — the budget holds when EPC contracting starts.

Zone-by-zone design

Pile geometry, length, helix and spacing chosen for the soil that's actually present. One spec per zone, not one for the whole site.

Standards-compliant docs

Eurocode 7, EN 61773 and ICC-ES AC358. The same documentation banks and lenders ask for during due diligence.

Locked before tendering

Preliminary assessment first, then full test piling on site. The numbers are locked before EPC tendering, not during.

Defensible at the table

You get measured capacities, named pile counts, a pile-by-pile schedule and a sealed cost range, with every line tracing back to a pile that was actually installed.

How we get there

The four-step process.

01

Data review

Send your site layout, soil data and any structural requirements you have. Engineers review and respond with a preliminary assessment. Free of charge, no commitment.

Aerial view of a cleared solar site with the installation rig and ATV — the planner's perspective on site data
02

Soil investigation

If the existing data has gaps, we arrange the geotechnical investigations. Optional — only if needed.

Installation rig and engineer on soft peat ground inspecting site conditions
03

Field testing

Reference piles installed on your ground. Compression, tension and lateral load tests. 50 % of test fees rebated when the project proceeds.

Helicasol crew driving a reference pile during field testing on a Nordic solar site
04

Analysis & recommendations

Measured capacity translated into per-pile design, zone-by-zone. Bank-grade documentation, sealed cost range, pile-by-pile schedule.

Completed pile field across a cleared site with forest backdrop — the bankable result
Developer references

Recent test piling and feasibility work.

Site-specific verification across Europe — confirming or refining what the desk study assumed.

Helicasol field test piling on a solar site in Ireland
Ireland · October 2025

Solar foundation testing, Ireland

Three days across fields and bog. A stony layer at 1.5–2.5 m shaped a two-size helical-pile design covering ~80 % of the area.

Read case study →
Helicasol field testing on a solar site in Sweden
Sweden · November 2025

Solar foundation testing, Sweden

Three days on site. Ground from bedrock to soft clay so deep piles sank under their own weight. 58 measurements produced a three-zone foundation strategy.

Read case study →
Helicasol field testing on Finnish ground
Finland · Multi-site

Finnish field testing

Reference piling and capacity verification across Eastern and Southern Finland — including peat feasibility and multi-site work supporting investor due diligence.

Standards & quality

Documentation your bank wants to see.

Formal test report and engineering deliverables compliant with the standards investor due diligence checks against.

EN 1090 Exc2 ISO 9001 ISO 14001 Eurocode 7 EN 61773 AC358 ICE Specification Full steel traceability
Before the first call

What developers usually ask first.

Four questions we hear from project developers before financing is locked. If your situation is on the edge of these, ask — we'll tell you straight whether test piling moves the number for you.

How much tighter is your CAPEX number versus the desk-only figure we already have?

Desk reports typically leave foundation scope with a ±20–40 % band. Site-specific test piling tightens that to ±5–10 % — the kind of number a financing committee can defend without a contingency stack on top. On a €10 M foundation scope, that's €2–4 M of variance taken off the table before close.

We're still in early permitting — is it too early to test pile?

No. We've test-piled at every stage from feasibility through pre-construction. Earlier is better for budget certainty and for catching a site that needs a different foundation type than the desk study assumed. Later is fine if you only need a final check before financing.

What we'd flag: don't wait until the EPC is on board. The numbers you take to the bank should be your own, not numbers a contractor rounds in their own favour late in the process.

Can the test-pile data be used by whichever EPC we contract later?

Yes. The data and the engineering report are deliverables you own. Any qualified pile contractor can build to that spec. If you want us to manufacture and install too, the data flows straight into our production and crew schedule with nothing rebuilt.

What soil data do you need before the first call?

A desk geotechnical report is ideal. If you only have layout and rough soil type, that's enough to start a conversation. We'll tell you on the first call what's missing for a meaningful preliminary number, and what test-pile programme would close the gap.

Talk to engineering

Request a site assessment.

Send us project size, location and any soil data you have. You get a preliminary assessment, fully confidential. NDA available on request.

Book a 30-60 min meeting info@helicasol.com
Talk to us

Direct lines for foundation briefs.

Heidi Hallenberg

Geotechnical Engineer
+358 50 307 5981

Riku Rahikka

CCO · Sales
+358 40 129 9345

Janne Veikkola

COO · Operations
+358 44 796 1372

Ilkka Saramies

CTO · Technology
+358 50 328 4212
Working with another audience on the same project?
For EPC contractors One accountable contract for the full foundation scope. For mounting system makers Win sites where soft ground rules out the rammed-C profile. For BESS projects Battery foundations on a tight commissioning schedule.

A subsidiary of Paalupiste — Europe's most experienced helical-pile manufacturer since 2001