Case Study: IEA achieves faster, more accurate solar pile driving with Trimble Groundworks

GPS Pile Driving Equipment for Solar

IEA invested in the Vermeer PD10 pile driver to improve solar pile driving, replacing traditional string-line methods that were slower, more error-prone, and created added safety hazards. The challenge was to achieve faster, more accurate pile placement and alignment while reducing setup time and ensuring proper depth across the site.

Trimble’s Groundworks system works directly with the PD10 pile driver to locate each pile and control plumbness, alignment, and depth using GPS. Trimble helped IEA eliminate the need to keep the entire site graded, delivering cost savings, and cut pile-driving time by up to 30 seconds per pile—about 10 minutes saved for every 20 piles. At Baxley, with 12,599 piles, that translated into substantial time and cost savings for both IEA and its client.

IEA