Kleinfelder was commissioned to undertake a geotechnical investigation for the proposed Axedale Solar Farm to investigate the underlying ground conditions and to inform the design and construction of the solar farm and internal infrastructure, including an area designated for an Ausnet sub-station and compound.

Understanding the Conditions

Kleinfelder engineers observed and logged 54 test pits and boreholes and 20 sets of pile lateral and pullout load tests to provide geotechnical advice for solar pile and substation design at the 140-megawatt solar project located on a 365-hectare non-irrigated site. As part of the site is within an Aboriginal artefact scatter area, test pitting in the area used a toothless bucket and was witnessed by Traditional owners with all excavated material being passed through a 10mm mechanical sieve.

Assessments

The test pits and boreholes provided information on the ground conditions and samples for testing to allow derivation of geotechnical design parameters. Pile load testing provided an accurate assessment of the pile deformation under design conditions to allow economic design of solar array piles, where a reduction of 100mm per pile could result in vast material and financial savings. The following assessments were also completed:
•  Pile load testing
•  Site corrosion assessment
•  Geotechnical assessment
•  Services location survey

Project Results

Kleinfelder effectively combined geotechnical and environmental expertise to de-risk the development of the site by effectively characterising the geotechnical profile of the site and, combined with the completion of a desktop study, outlined the low-risk nature of the site and surrounding historic land use which was supported through targeted assessment at planned third-party infrastructure locations.

Project Details

Location:
Axedale, Victoria

Owner:
UPC-AC Renewables Australia