Wind Energy

PACADAR S.A., as a worldwide leading company in the field of precast concrete, is present in the market of renewable energies by means of its subsidiary ECOVENTIA and with a highly competitive product in all key aspects: our concrete tower for wind turbines.

As a result of our accumulated know-how, in 2006 ECOVENTIA, a subsidiary wholly owned by PACADAR, took up the challenge of projecting a concrete wind tower that would resolve the many problems that this type of structures had so far:

• Visual impact of wind farms.
• Resistance to fatigue, vibration and dynamic effects.
• Really short time for manufacture and assembly.

ECOVENTIA’s wind tower, which is made of prestressed precast concrete, has followed a thorough design process so as to offer an innovative and competitive product, with a great number of advantages compared to other towers in the market that are made of steel or concrete. This breakthrough has been possible thanks to a great investment in research and development.

Advantages of Ecoventia’s Wind Tower

Some of the advantages of the concrete wind tower developed by ECOVENTIA over steel concrete towers which are currently in the market are:

• Increased capacity: ECOVENTIA’s concrete wind tower has a series of physical features that result in an enhanced performance in aspects such as a higher stiffness, mass and dumping, as well as a higher fatigue resistance.
• Adjustable tower frequency: The vibration frequency of the tower can be adjusted in the design stage as required by the customer, and so unwanted vibrations are prevented.
• Longer useful life and less maintenance: Nowadays, steel wind towers are designed to have a maximum useful life of 25 years, a period over which a thorough maintenance process is required. Our concrete shafts are virtually maintenance free and its useful life exceeds that period of 25 years without any extra costs.
• Lower cost: Apart from the features above mentioned, there is a key advantage to be noted: the lower cost offered by ECOVENTIA’s concrete wind tower in comparison with those made of steel. Furthermore, not only is our tower competitive over others made of steel, but it is also competitive compared to others which are also made of concrete, since our tower has advantages over these in key aspects such as:
• No on-site post-tensioning needed: The innovative design of ECOVENTIA’s concrete wind tower does not require the use of on-site post-tensioning systems, which increases productivity and reduces costs.
• Shorter execution time compared to that of other concrete towers, thus enabling the execution of 2 towers and a half per week and per working team.
• Easy transportation: Our design allows an easy transportation of the tower, which is divided in several parts where needed and so we adapt it to the local transport regulations with no problem.
• No cracks: No crack occurs throughout the useful life of the tower, which guarantees a constant response rate over time.
• Lower cost: Again, the costs of ECOVENTIA’s concrete wind tower are lower than those of its competitors.

Moreover, this precast product suits perfectly the international model developed by PACADAR, that is, mobile manufacturing plants installed in locations near project sites where the production of precast elements follows the work programme set for the farm, while costs and transportation times are minimized. Let us not forget that, quite often, wind farms are located in areas of difficult access, so the proximity offered by precast concrete production is a very relevant, competitive advantage.