Offshore wind developer Ocean Winds is set to start a geotechnical survey campaign in Moray Firth in Scotland, to support the development of the 2GW Caledonia offshore wind farm.
"Sediment from deep bore hole samples from across the Moray Firth site will provide crucial geotechnical data to allow further planning of the project’s engineering design and installation phases," Ocean Winds said.
"Following the success of the recent geophysical survey campaign, the geotechnical survey will see the use of Gardline’s Horizon Geobay vessel. This will support soil analysis across the 429km2 site - specifically core penetration tests and borehole sampling," the company added.
The Horizon Geobay vessel is currently in Poland, and Ocean Winds told Offshore Engineer that the vessel is due on site in Scotland in mid-August.
Sarah Graham, Caledonia Offshore Wind Farm Head of Engineering said: “Ocean Winds has built a robust data catalogue of the Moray Firth throughout its decade-long presence in the area. Our goal now is to build a clear picture of the ground conditions across the Caledonia site area to inform the engineering design of the project. Collecting this data is an essential part in determining the wind turbine foundations, ensuring we select structures suitable for the site."
The offshore campaign will run until the end of 2023 (weather dependent).
Caledonia is a 2GW project developed by Ocean Winds in the Moray Firth, and one of the few ScotWind sites scheduled to be operational by 2030. It is adjacent to Ocean Wind's operational Moray East development and its under-construction Moray West project, which is due to be up and running early in 2025.