Enterprize Launches 1st Vietnamese floating LIDAR survey at Thang Long

Enterprize Energy, a pioneering low carbon energy developer, announced today that it has commissioned Fugro, the world’s leading Geo-data specialist, and its Vietnamese partner, PTSC, to install floating LiDAR survey technology at the site of the 3.4GW Thang Long offshore wind farm – the first time such technology has been used in Vietnam.

Offshore wind in Vietnam is increasingly recognised as the primary route to decarbonising the country’s energy supply, with its southern waters ranked in the top 10 per cent of global wind locations. However, there are few offshore wind developers currently positioned to capture this abundant resource and secure economic benefits for the country as it works towards a target of 42% wind power by 2045.

In 2018, Enterprize Energy brought the potential of offshore wind energy off the coast of the Binh Thuan Province to the attention of the Vietnamese government, with a focus on accessing the best resource and identifying opportunities for grid stability solutions such as hydrogen storage.

This announcement for the installation of floating LiDAR marks the next step in the surveying process for Thang Long, the only large-scale offshore wind farm to be granted a survey licence by the Vietnamese government. To date, a full year of wind data measurements have been collected via fixed LiDAR to assess resource over the allocated area, with reconnaissance surveys to support the project team’s understanding of geological and seabed features occuring earlier this year.

Based on initial results, Enterprize Energy has confirmed there will be no reduction in prospective area due to unsuitable seabed features such as basalt intrusions. The company has engaged Fugro and its local partner, PTSE, to deploy Fugro’s ‘SEAWATCH Wind LiDAR Buoy’ to collect detailed wind resource, meteorological, and oceanographic data across the 2000 km2 project site over the next 12 months. The technology will track air pressure, humidity, air and water temperature, wave height and current, with support from a guard vessel which will also track fishery activity and supplementary ocean data from its own onboard sensors.

Ian Hatton, Chairman, Enterprize Energy, said, “Contracting Fugro and their local partner PTSE to install the first floating LiDAR technology in Vietnam at the Thang Long project site was a natural decision for us. The data the team will collect is central to informing the next stages in Thang Long’s development process, including long-term financial modelling and power purchase agreements.”

The first 600MW phase of the 3.4GW Thang Long offshore wind farm is due to come online by the end of 2025, with further phases developed on a rolling basis.