On 30 December, the vessel North Sea Giant is expected to start suction bucket trials within the array areas of the Mona and Morgan offshore wind farm sites, located off North West England and North Wales.
The trials will run for an estimated 32 days, during which time the vessel will be lifting a suction bucket and setting it down on the seabed, and using subsea pumps to drive the suction bucket into the seabed and back out.
The campaign is expected to consist of around 20 suction bucket trials, subject to weather conditions.
In their environmental impact assessment (EIA) scoping reports , issued last year, BP and EnBW state that a number of foundation types are being considered for the two proposed offshore wind farms and that the type(s) to be used will not be confirmed until the final design, after the projects are granted consent.
“The final selection of foundation type will depend on factors including wind turbine type, and environmental and pre-construction site investigation survey results” , the EIA scoping reports state.
In June this year, Dubai-headquartered engineering company Kent, which won a contract for the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) for the Morgan and Mona offshore wind farms, said that it would design jacket foundations for 17-24 MW wind turbines that would be installed in a 35-metre water depth.
The joint venture between BP and EnBW secured leases for Morgan and Mona project sites in the UK Round 4 leasing at the beginning of 2021.
Last year, the developers received electricity generation licences for the two offshore wind farms which will have a total installed capacity of up to 3 GW.
According to information on the UK Planning Inspectorate’s website, BP and EnBW are expected to apply for development consent for the Mona offshore wind farm in the first quarter of 2024 and the Morgan project in the second quarter of next year.