RWE and National Grid Ventures’ JV Community Offshore Wind has selected Fugro to perform a geotechnical investigation of their lease area in the New York Bight.
With 3GW of offshore wind energy potential, the developed lease area could potentially power more than one million homes in the region, making a valuable contribution to the US energy transition.
The geotechnical work follows a site characterisation programme completed by Fugro in 2023.
Covering the entire 510 km² lease area and potential export cable corridors, the effort produced a preliminary earth model detailing geophysical and environmental conditions to support the wind farm’s concept design.
The geotechnical investigation will refine the earth model through seabed sampling and ground condition testing to ensure safe and efficient engineering of the wind turbine foundations, Fugro said.
Work on the programme is underway and will continue through the summer using two vessels: one focused on seabed sampling and downhole in situ testing, and the other on advanced seabed cone penetration tests (CPTs).
For the CPT scope, Fugro is employing their SEACALF MkV Deep Drive system, which delivers fast, high-quality data acquisition with improved safety and reduced emissions-up to 40% compared to traditional technology.
Additionally, Fugro’s cloud-based Geo data engagement platform, VirGeo, facilitates near real-time data analysis, enabling quick decision-making and optimised field operations.
Doug Perkins, president and project director at Community Offshore Wind, said: “Our lease area in the New York Bight has the capacity to power more than one million US homes with renewable energy from offshore wind.
“This survey work is a vital step forward that will ensure our projects are developed sustainably and responsibly, while preparing us to bring new clean energy to communities across the region and help New York and New Jersey meet their nation-leading climate targets.”
Céline Gerson, Fugro’s president and group director in the Americas, added: “Fugro is extremely proud that Community Offshore Wind has once again entrusted us to deliver the Geo-data and analysis needed to advance their offshore wind project in the New York Bight.
“Leveraging our extensive experience working on offshore renewable energy projects in the region and around the world, we’re fully committed to supporting the significant contributions this project will bring to the US energy transition.”