Innogy has contracted marine navigation specialist Partrac to supply, install and maintain navigation and metocean equipment at its 857MW Triton Knoll offshore wind project site ahead of construction starting in January 2020.
Partrac will supply and install 12 buoys to demarcate the construction site and act as navigation aids to mariners.
The company will also supply, install and maintain two metocean buoys which are designed to gather information about offshore conditions, helping support operational decision-making during the construction phase.
It will provide, install, maintain and remove all equipment over the course of the offshore construction activity, as well as provide the datalink to facilitate the sharing of metocean data.
Partrac is a UK-based coastal and marine geoscience company, which has provided metocean and buoy services for the offshore wind industry for the past decade.
Innogy’s Triton Knoll project director Julian Garnsey said: “Completing construction of Triton Knoll safely depends on having excellent management of the offshore site area which totals well over 50 square kilometres.
“This contract with Partrac is a critical part of that management system.”
“It’s very encouraging for the UK’s future in global offshore wind that a home-grown company is able to provide such critical and specialist support for Triton Knoll. Helping develop that expertise is important to Triton Knoll, and so we are very pleased to be working with Partrac to further develop the UK capabilities in this sector.”
Partrac director Sam Athey said: “We are delighted to be providing real-time, safety critical wave and current data for Triton Knoll.
“The metocean data will be used daily to help plan, inform and increase the safety of hundreds of heavy lifts and personnel transfers, plus boulder clearance, subsea and cable lay operations during its construction phase.”
Located 32km off the Lincolnshire coast, Triton Knoll is the largest offshore wind farm Innogy is constructing.