Fugro Lends Support To Denmark’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm

Netherland-based geo-data specialist, Fugro, has set in motion geotechnical site surveys at RWE’s Thor offshore wind farm project. The acquired geo-data will be used to design, produce, and install the major parts of the wind farm, such as the foundations for the turbines and the inter-array and export cables.

According to RAW, Thor is set to be the largest offshore wind farm to date in Denmark. The wind farm is equipped with a planned capacity of 1,000 megawatts (MW), thereby boasting of sufficient sustainable energy to power over a million Danish homes.

Fugro will mobilise multiple top-tier vessels from its fleet, including Fugro Scout, which has already begun inspections at wind turbine locations, about 22 kilometers from Thorsminde.

Fugro’s SEACALF Mk V DeepDrive system for seabed cone penetration tests (CPTs) and its ground-breaking Blue Snake geotechnical system, which combines CPT and sampling technology, will be installed on the vessels to enable the safe, effective, and high-quality data collection along the wind farm cable routes. The geo-data will be used to design, build, and safeguard inter-array cables and the main export cable, which connects the offshore substation with the onshore grid. It will also prove to be of help while understanding the behavior of soil beneath various turbine loading zones.

The cloud-based geo-data engagement platform of Fugro will be used to manage the project. By enabling RWE and the project team to receive deliverables in close to real-time, the platform fosters faster decision-making, more communication, and shortens turnaround times for important milestones.

RWE Renewables’ Project Director for the Thor Offshore Wind Farm, Günther Fenle, stated: “We are eager to begin the design work for the major parts of our Thor Offshore Wind Farm using the data gathered by Fugro. With Thor, we now have two projects offshore of Denmark, which means that RWE is significantly aiding the country’s energy transformation. RWE wants to participate in this development since Denmark has exceptionally favorable wind conditions and plans to deploy even more offshore projects.”

Recently, Fugro inked a deal for the naval design of Blue Prism, the company’s upcoming line of unmanned surface vehicles, with Kooiman Engineering and Van Oossanen Naval Architects (USVs).