Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) has commissioned four vessels to conduct soil research in the North Sea in areas potentially suitable for the construction of future offshore wind farms.
The four Fugro vessels will first take shallow bottom samples prior to another vessel taking deeper samples, in depths of up to 60 metres.
The data collected will help map the subsurface, which in turn can inform the types of foundations most suitable for the new wind farms.
At the same time as the soil surveys, wind and water studies are also being undertaken by GEOxyz and RPS using floating LiDAR for determining wind speeds.
GEOxyz and RPS will carry out five measurement campaigns on behalf of RVO.
The campaigns will last two years per wind energy area.
The wind and water measurements will help to calculate the yield of a wind farm as precisely as possible.