RWE and Masdar have signed a contract with marine technology and data acquisition company, Ocean Infinity, for 3D ultra high-resolution seismic (UHRS) geophysical surveys at the Dogger Bank South (DBS) West offshore wind farm in the UK.
Located over 100 kilometres off the northeastern coast of England, DBS will be split across two sites, DBS East and DBS West, each with a capacity of 1.5 GW and spanning 500 square kilometres.
Surveys at the turbine foundation sites will be undertaken by the vessel Deep Helder from early June 2024 and will continue for about 30 days, depending on weather conditions.
Ocean Infinity will survey the subsea terrain at each of the proposed wind turbine foundation sites for the DBS West offshore wind farm.
“These geophysical surveys will deliver detailed data about conditions on and under the surface of the seabed,” said Colin McAllister , Development Project Manager, DBS offshore wind farms.
“Combining this with geotechnical data we are also collecting from the turbine foundation sites will deliver exceptional levels of detail about the subsea conditions which is invaluable. It enables us to identify challenges at the development stage and to put in place appropriate mitigations where required.”
Ocean Infinity uses high-definition survey techniques to “scan” the seafloor and the sub-sea bottom, to provide high-resolution 3D geological data deep below each proposed wind turbine site.
RWE entered into agreements for lease for the DBS projects with the Crown Estate in January 2023.
Construction on the projects could start as early as the end of 2025, with the first 800 MW of electricity planned to come online in 2029.
Recently, the project’s developers selected Fugro to carry out geotechnical seabed surveys at the location of each proposed turbine and platform foundation, and associated seabed infrastructure.
The next development milestone for the projects will be the submission of an application for a Development Consent Order, expected to be during the second quarter of 2024. If successful, the next steps would be to secure Contracts for Difference (CfD), followed by financing, construction, and finally commissioning by 2031.