Dutch geo-data specialist Fugro has secured a major geotechnical survey contract from SSE Renewables to support the Berwick Bank B offshore wind development in the UK North Sea. The project forms the second phase of the wider Berwick Bank offshore wind scheme, which is targeting a total generating capacity of 4.1 GW across three phases.
Berwick Bank B represents around 1.4 GW of the planned capacity and is expected to use fixed-bottom turbine foundations. Fugro will carry out a full geotechnical site investigation programme to support foundation design and engineering analysis. The scope includes drilling boreholes to depths of up to 50 m below the seabed to obtain soil and rock samples from what the company described as “complex ground conditions”.
The work will be undertaken using the company’s geotechnical vessels Fugro Quest and Fugro Zenith, employing specialist coring and conventional sampling techniques. Fugro said the data gathered during the campaign will help reduce construction risk and support the safe installation of the planned offshore wind infrastructure.
Located off Scotland’s east coast in the outer Firth of Forth, the Berwick Bank development is regarded as one of Europe’s largest proposed offshore wind projects. If fully developed, it could generate enough electricity to supply more than six million UK homes annually. Berwick Bank B secured a Contract for Difference earlier this year under the UK’s Allocation Round 7 scheme.
