Fugro has been awarded geotechnical investigation contracts for the development of offshore wind zones off the Netherlands.
The contracts concern the IJmuiden Ver Site 5-6, Nederwiek (zuid) Site 1 and Hollandse Kust (west) Site 8 offshore wind zones.
This is the largest campaign undertaken by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) to date and part of the accelerated development by the Dutch Government in line with the Offshore Wind Energy Roadmap 2030.
Once completed, the wind farms built in the zones will deliver a total installed capacity of around 4.7GW.
The comprehensive geo-data will be used by wind farm developers as input for preliminary engineering design studies and future tenders, and will also be available for power cable design, archaeology and marine biology investigations.
Specialist geotechnical vessels from the Fugro fleet will commence the surveys in March 2023 and continue into the fourth quarter of 2023.
Further processing, laboratory testing and reporting of results will take well into 2024.
The fieldwork will comprise investigations of the seabed and subsurface using Fugro’s technology, while its data delivery platform will provide secure and easy client access.
Increased laboratory capacity onboard the vessels will ensure faster processing of results.
Subsequent extensive laboratory testing will take place in Fugro’s recently extended laboratories in the UK and Belgium.
Peter-Paul Lebbink, RVO’s Coordinator Soil Characterisation, said: “By awarding this extensive geotechnical survey, RVO is taking another important step in the realisation of the Offshore Wind Energy Roadmap 2030.
“We are looking forward to receiving high quality geotechnical results in 3 different Dutch offshore wind farm zones from Fugro.”