Preparatory survey work for four new floating offshore wind farms in the North Sea has reached completion, marking a significant milestone for Edinburgh-based BlueFloat Energy and Renantis Partnership. The marine infrastructure services and survey experts, Acteon, were commissioned to map and analyze the seabed composition and structure at the proposed sites.
The surveyed projects include the 900MW Broadshore scheme, situated 50km north of Fraserburgh, and the 1200MW Bellrock array, located 120km east of Aberdeen. Additionally, the survey covered two 99MW innovation projects, Sinclair and Scaraben, adjacent to Broadshore, secured in the Crown Estate Scotland's INTOG auction earlier this year.
The Ocean Fortune vessel, designed for year-round operations in the North Sea, was mobilized from Peterhead to conduct the surveys. Acteon's offshore site investigation services team carried out the surveys, with onshore support from the company's operations center in Westhill, Aberdeenshire, and its data center in Livingston, West Lothian.
David Robertson, Portfolio Director at BlueFloat Energy and Renantis Partnership, emphasized the importance of seabed analysis in the journey toward delivering commercial-scale floating offshore wind. He stated, “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 at Acteon's data and robotics division, expressed delight in supporting the partnership in developing floating wind projects in Scotland. The data collected during the surveys will contribute to a detailed understanding of the sites, identifying seabed features, potential hazards, and guiding decisions on turbine layouts, foundations, and moorings. The information gathered will be instrumental in refining project boundaries and optimizing the design for successful implementation.
