Fugro has begun geotechnical site investigations at RWE’s Thor offshore wind farm development.
The collected Geo-data will be used to inform the design, fabrication and installation of the main wind farm components including turbine foundation, inter-array and export cables. With a planned capacity of 1,000 megawatts (MW) Thor will be Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm to date, producing enough green electricity to supply the equivalent of more than one million Danish households.
Fugro will be mobilising multiple vessels from its industry-leading fleet, including Fugro Scout which has already begun investigations at the wind turbine locations, approximately 22 kilometres from Thorsminde. Vessels will be equipped with Fugro’s SEACALF® Mk V DeepDrive® system for seabed cone penetration tests (CPTs) and Fugro’s innovative Blue Snake™ geotechnical system which integrates CPT and sampling technology to enable safe, efficient and high-quality data acquisition along the wind farm cable routes. The Geo-data will be used to understand soil behaviour under the various turbine loading areas, as well as inform the design, installation and protection of the inter-array cables and the main export cable that connects the offshore substation with the onshore grid.
All work will be managed through Fugro’s cloud-based Geo-data engagement platform. With the ability to provide near real-time deliverables to RWE and the project team, the platform increases collaboration, facilitates faster decision-making and accelerates timelines on critical milestones.
Günther Fenle, Project Director Thor Offshore Wind Farm, RWE Renewables, said: “We are looking forward to using the data collected by Fugro to start the design works for the main components of our Thor Offshore Wind Farm. With Thor, we have two projects off the Danish coast and this means that RWE is making a major contribution to Denmark's energy transition. Denmark has very favourable wind conditions and has ambitions to deploy even more offshore projects off the Danish coast – and as RWE we want to be part of this development.”
Dennis Koenen, Fugro’s Global Director Geo-data Acquisition Marine Site Characterisation, said: “We’re proud to be delivering state-of-the-art solutions that support the responsible design and installation of offshore assets. With a range of specialised vessels and equipment, we are committed to supporting Denmark’s energy transition and we’re proud to work with RWE as they prepare for future developmental phases of this project.
Source: Fugro