Fugro will perform seabed surveys as part of the first major contract issued for RWE’s 1100MW Awel y Mor offshore wind farm in Wales.
It has hired the Seafox 7 jackup, which has departed Holyhead and will spend up to six months off the north Wales coast taking borehole samples from the seabed.
These samples will help the Awel y Mor team map out the underlying geology in order to refine turbine installation methods and fine-tune locations.
It follows the award of a marine licence by Natural Resource Wales for the work earlier this year.
RWE is developing Awel y Mor with project partners Stadtwerke München (30%) and Siemens Financial Services (10%).
RWE project lead for Awel y Mor Tamsyn Rowe said: “With the development consent order in place, the Awel y Mor project is now entering a new phase, with this being the first major contract awarded as we begin the work necessary for construction to take place.
“The seabed in Liverpool Bay reflects the landscape onshore in Wales, in that much of it was formed in the wake of the last ice age, with harder and softer rocks in different layers across the array area, presenting a fascinating opportunity to learn more about our surroundings.
“This also presents a unique challenge for innovation in engineering; one that RWE has continually risen to since we developed the UK’s first commercial scale offshore wind farm at North Hoyle, right here in north Wales.”
Fugro’s nearshore regional service line director for Europe and Africa Matthew Chappell said: “Fugro is proud to be a part of this significant milestone for the Awel y Mor offshore wind farm project. Our expertise in nearshore seabed site investigations and geological sampling will play a crucial role in helping the Awel y Mor team refine their turbine installation methods and make informed decisions about site locations.”