Construction Magazine November 2018 | Page 139

NORTH AMERICA

“ That ’ s what we are doing at Terracon , we are working with these large companies and we are providing innovative solutions that help reduce those costs ”

— Blair Loftis , VP and National Director , Power Generation & Transmission , Terracon
Lowering the corrugated metal pipe into the foundation excavation 139
“ The existing production tax credit ( PTC ) expires in 2019 and this is forcing a number of companies to find ways to fill the incentive gap ,” says Loftis . “ In losing those tax incentives , more and more companies are now seeking out ways to reduce capital costs .
“ That ’ s what we are doing at Terracon , we are working with these large companies and we are providing innovative solutions that helps reduce those costs .”
Loftis notes that 50 % of the capital expenditure within the construction cycle of a wind farm goes into the turbines themselves , with the remaining 50 % going into ‘ balance of plant ’ ( BOP ): roadways , conductor systems and other infrastructure elements and half of the BOP cost is the foundations .
The key then for Terracon is finding where it can add value into that construction cycle , and it has located it in the wind turbine foundations .
As the wind energy market grows and the PTC expiration date draws near , these developers are looking for bigger returns on each wind turbine
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