Rovco, a provider in offshore robotics and hydrographic survey, has completed comprehensive survey work for the planned 1400MW Cenos floating offshore wind farm in the Central North Sea, situated 200km off the coast of Scotland.
The geo-environmental survey, conducted on behalf of Flotation Energy and Vargronn, covered an extensive area of approximately 333 square kilometres. Rovco’s newly established site characterisation division executed the survey using the Glomar Supporter, a custom-reconfigured DP2 survey vessel equipped with a full suite of survey tools, technology, and an experienced specialist team.
Craig Davis, Director of Marine Site Characterisation for Rovco, highlighted the success of the project, emphasizing the instrumental role played by the Glomar Supporter in meeting the fast-track delivery schedule for the Cenos floating offshore wind farm.
The scope of Rovco’s work included acquiring geophysical and benthic information crucial for environmental impact assessment (EIA) consents and early front-end engineering and design (FEED) study processes. The geophysical aspect involved multi-beam echo sounder, side scan sonar, magnetometer, sub-bottom profiler, and multi-channel seismic data acquisition, coupled with comprehensive analysis, processing, interpretation, and reporting.
Upon completion, the Cenos wind farm is expected to contribute renewable electricity to both oil and gas platforms and the broader UK grid. The joint venture between Vargronn and Flotation Energy secured exclusivity from Crown Estate Scotland for the project area, following their earlier award of exclusivity as part of Crown Estate Scotland’s Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas offshore leasing round earlier this year.
