CLIENT: Hedgehog Technologies Inc.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
PRI Engineering provided preliminary foundation design and pre-production field investigation services, including Quality Control/Quality Assurance (QC/QA) testing, for a 2 MW / 1.4 MW DC solar project on Haida Gwaii Island, BC. The scope included subsurface investigation, comparative foundation testing, and full foundation design. Deliverables included a Geotechnical Investigation Report, a Foundation Design Report, two issued-for-construction foundation drawings (helical and groundscrew foundations), and a General Conformance Letter.
CHALLENGE:
Haida Gwaii’s remote location and coastal environment presented unique geotechnical conditions, including corrosive soils that posed a direct risk to long-term foundation integrity. Identifying the right foundation system — and ensuring it could withstand both structural loads and aggressive soil conditions over the life of the project — required careful site characterization and a rigorous pre-production testing program.
APPROACH:
PRI advanced 20 helical probes to characterize subsurface conditions across the site. To evaluate foundation performance, 10 helical foundations and 10 driven foundations were installed, each with associated axial and lateral pre-production load tests. Given the corrosive soil conditions identified through geotechnical analysis, corrosion protection measures were recommended for both the helical and groundscrew foundations, along with specific pile sizes selected for durability, and recommended embedment depths to achieve required capacity. Load and stability checks informed final design adjustments, and production mechanical axial testing was completed on 6 foundations to verify compliance with QC/QA requirements.
OUTCOME:
PRI delivered a complete, site-specific foundation design package for a challenging remote and coastal environment — including issued-for-construction drawings for helical and groundscrew foundations and a General Conformance Letter. The corrosion-resistant design approach ensured the foundations were built to perform reliably over the long term on Haida Gwaii.