Fugro to perform seabed surveys at 660MW wind farm off Cumbria coast, UK
Dong Energy has appointed Fugro to perform offshore pre-construction surveys at the Walney extension offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea, off the UK’s Cumbria coast.
The 660MW wind farm is expected to be fully commissioned in 2019, at which time it will be the biggest offshore wind farm in the world, surpassing the 630MW London wind farm which was commissioned in 2014 by Dong Energy and its partners.
Location of the Walney extention wind park in the Irish Sea, near Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, UK.
Three specialised vessels
For the seabed surveys of the future location of the Walney wind farm Fugro will use three of its specialist vessels including the 41-metre Fugro Helmert (on top photo).
Two smaller multi-purpose research vessels, the RV Discovery and Fugro Valkyrie, will also be deployed at the wind farm site as well as on the export cable route.
The pre-construction and engineering survey will provide detailed information to the Walney Extension project team, including additional geophysical data to ensure the seabed is clear of obstructions, including unexploded Second World War ordnance (UXO).
Van Oord's specialized jack-up vessel Aeolus active in the North Sea.
Important first step
"Carrying out geophysical surveys is an important step before we can safely begin offshore construction", said Andrew Cotterell, Dong Energy’s programme director for Walney Extension. "We are delighted to be working with Fugro on this phase of our programme."
Nick Simmons, Deputy geophysics business line manager at Fugro EMU added, "We are looking forward to applying our specialist skills and resources in UXO detection and are pleased that our extensive experience continues to contribute to Fugro’s strong relationship with Dong Energy."
The installation work will start in spring 2017. Van Oord Offshore Wind Projects has been selected by Dong Energy to transport and install all foundations for the 87 wind turbines.
This news item was originally published on the websites of Fugro and Dong Energy.
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More information
Fugro
Leidschendam, the Netherlands
+31 70 311 1422
www.fugro.com