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A specialist survey vessel with a crew of 30 will spend about 100 days at sea after setting sail from Swansea. The vessel, operated by surveying services firm Fugro, will use towed and hull-mounted sensors to gather geophysical data on the properties of the seabed and sub-seabed, which will inform the development of floating offshore wind farms.
The survey is the first in a series of studies funded by the Crown Estate. The manager of the seabed and coastline aims to accelerate plans for new floating wind farms in the Celtic Sea. The organisation has proposed four locations for installations, which could deliver up to 4GW of floating wind capacity – enough to power about 4m homes, making it one of the largest initiatives in the world.
Although floating wind turbines do not have foundations built into the seabed, they are tethered to it to remain in place. Data collected by the surveys will be freely available to successful bidders, to support decision making and assist their progress through the planning system.
Nicola Clay, head of new ventures at the Crown Estate, said: “After many months of careful preparation and planning, these surveys mark an exciting step forward for our plans to establish new floating wind technology of the coast of Wales and South West England.
“By better understanding the physical and environmental properties of the proposed sites, we are able to help remove some of the barriers and risks developers face when moving through the planning process, while also helping assess and manage any environmental impacts.
“Over the last 25 years the UK has firmly established itself at the forefront of the global offshore renewables industry. Floating offshore wind is the next exciting chapter in this story, and has a vital role to play in strengthening our energy security, supporting our transition away from fossil fuels, and generating real value for the UK. We look forward to bringing this new opportunity in the Celtic Sea to market later this year.”
Gerard Ferreira, service line manager at Fugro UK, said: “This critical data will help to de-risk the area for future development, supporting the move to clean energy in the United Kingdom.”
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