Offshore digital aerial surveys have begun at a site in the Celtic Sea where a 300 MW floating wind project has been proposed to be built by Blue Gem Wind, a joint venture between TotalEnergies and Simply Blue Energy .
The partners have contracted APEM to deliver 24 consecutive monthly bird and marine mammal surveys of their early-commercial scale Valorous site, where the survey programme commenced in March 2021 and four of the 24 monthly surveys have been completed to date.
The Valorous project, located some 50 kilometres South West of the Pembrokeshire coastline, represents the second floating wind project being progressed by Blue Gem Wind in the Celtic Sea, following on from Erebus, the 96 MW test and demonstration project already in development.
Blue Gem Wind submitted a scoping report for the Valorous site in February.
The aerial surveys will provide high resolution data that will support baseline environmental characterisation of the site and environmental impact assessments for key ecological receptors.
“These surveys will provide crucial species specific data on the number, spatial distribution, and activity of individuals across the Valorous site. This enables us to undertake robust environmental impact assessments ahead of our planned consent application submission in 2023 “, said Sean Evans, Environmental Specialist at Blue Gem Wind.