- Geophysical survey work completed on ScotWind projects, Broadshore and Bellrock
- Campaign extended to include ‘INTOG’ Innovation projects, Sinclair & Scaraben
Preparatory survey work on four new floating offshore wind farms has been completed in the North Sea.
Edinburgh-based BlueFloat Energy | Renantis Partnership commissioned marine infrastructure services and survey experts Acteon to map and analyse the composition and structure of the seabed at its floating offshore wind sites – the 900 MW Broadshore project, 50 km north of Fraserburgh and the 1,200 MW Bellrock project, 120 km east of Aberdeen.
The survey work at the sites also included the Partnership’s two 99 MW innovation projects, Sinclair and Scaraben which lie adjacent to Broadshore and were secured in the Crown Estate Scotland’s ‘INTOG’ innovation auction earlier this year.
The Ocean Fortune vessel, designed specifically for year-round operations in the North Sea, was mobilised from Peterhead. The surveys were carried out by Acteon’s offshore site investigation services team, with onshore support provided by Acteon’s operations centre in Westhill, Aberdeenshire and its data centre in Livingston, West Lothian.
David Robertson, BlueFloat Energy | Renantis Partnership Portfolio Director, said: “An extensive analysis of the seabed conditions is a key part of the journey to delivering commercial scale floating offshore wind and as well as surveying our two ScotWind projects, we have been able to adapt this scope of works to include our two innovation projects secured via the INTOG leasing round earlier this year.
“One of the main benefits of floating wind farms is that projects can be sited further out to sea in deeper waters with stronger wind conditions. Our Bellrock project will be one of the furthest offshore wind farms in the world and this analysis of the seabed composition is crucial in building up our knowledge of what is possible, helping to shape and inform the designs going forward.”
Sudhir Pai, Executive Vice President, Acteon Data and Robotics Division, said: “We are delighted to have supported the Partnership in this groundbreaking work to develop floating wind projects in Scotland.
“Our early involvement provided data interpretation services to help all the teams involved in the project understand the seafloor composition and structure, enabling informed decisions about layout, designs and equipment that will best suit the conditions.”
The data collected by Acteon is now being used to build up a detailed picture of the sites, identifying seabed features and any potential hazards and feeding into a model of the seabed. It will also refine the site boundaries and guide decisions on turbine layouts and the design of the foundations and moorings.
ENDS
A photograph is attached of the Ocean Fortune leaving Peterhead Harbour.
For more information contact Kenny Craig, Head of Communications, BlueFloat Energy | Renantis Partnership
Notes to Editors
About the BlueFloat Energy | Renantis Partnership
Based in Edinburgh, the Partnership has a 3.3GW portfolio of Scottish floating offshore wind projects – 900 MW Broadshore, 1.2GW Bellrock and the 1GW Stromar project it is developing in collaboration with Ørsted.
In May 2023 it secured exclusivity rights to develop two 99MW projects under the innovation arm of Crown Estate Scotland’s INTOG (Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas) auction process. The Sinclair and Scaraben projects, located north of Fraserburgh and next to the Partnership’s Broadshore development, will trial innovative foundation technologies, fabrication works and mooring systems with a view to maximising opportunities for the Scottish supply chain, driving local investment and job creation.
The Partnership is developing up to 3GW across two projects in the Celtic Sea – the Petroc wind project off the coast of Devon and Cornwall and the Llewelyn wind project off the coast of Wales.
About BlueFloat Energy
BlueFloat Energy is a nimble and fast-growing offshore wind developer shaping the global energy transformation by bringing scaled decarbonization solutions to new markets and leveraging its team’s extensive knowledge and hands-on experience in floating.
The company’s portfolio of both bottom-fixed and floating projects comprises 32.8 GW of planned capacity in ten countries across the globe.
For more information please visit: www.bluefloat.com
About Renantis
Renantis exists to build a better future for all by powering people’s everyday lives with care. It develops, designs, constructs and operates onshore wind farms, solar PV plants, floating offshore wind farms and energy storage facilities globally.
Headquartered in Italy, Renantis has delivered renewable energy since 2002. The company’s plants span the United Kingdom, Italy, United States, Spain, France, Norway and Sweden, with a total capacity of 1,420 MW in operation.
Sustainability is part of Renantis’ DNA, creating shared value for all stakeholders, safeguarding, and enhancing the environment in which they operate and building relationships with communities.
As responsible pioneers in the renewable energy sector, Renantis has a strong track record of providing specialised services and expertise at all stages of the value chain. From production to consumption, they provide technical advisory, asset management and energy management services to clients and these activities span 40 countries.
For more information please visit: www.renantis.com
About Acteon
Acteon provides specialist engineering, services and technology to companies who develop and own marine infrastructure across the life of their assets. We enable our customers to achieve their operational goals with a more efficient integrated solution reducing the cost and carbon footprint through value engineering without compromising the quality of delivery.
This is achieved by applying our domain expertise to increase efficiencies and enhance commercial and environmental value for our customers across the renewable, nearshore construction and oil and gas industries.
We specialise in data collection and survey techniques ahead of construction, the installation of key foundation and anchoring technologies, the monitoring and management of assets, and the decommissioning of assets.
For more information please visit: www.acteon.com
