In January 2024, Brownline surveyed a crossing of nearly 400 m / 1300 ft under the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal for our client Welvreugd Drilling BV. This HDD crossing served to install power cables to connect a solar farm.
The solar farm “Schalkwijkse Stroom” involves the installation of 30 000 solar panels in the fields near Schalkwijk, south of Utrecht. On an area of 160 000 m2 / 40 acres, this will generate enough green energy to meet the energy consumption of 6800 homes.
Not affected by interference
To connect the solar park, Welvreugd carried out a 396 m / 1299 ft directional drilling, crossing under the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal. With approximately 100 000 ships passing here every year, this is the busiest canal in the world. For this type of crossing, the Drillguide Gyro Steering Tool is the ideal solution. The GST is not affected by surrounding magnetic interference. This made it possible to drill under the sheet piles and the canal floor with the highest accuracy.
In addition, the Pressure-While-Drilling module inside the GST was used to monitor the mud pressure during drilling. This made it possible to avoid inadvertent returns and to cross the canal safely and efficiently.
