Fugro Conducts Geotechnical Study for Community Offshore Wind’s New York Bight Lease Area
Geotechnical Investigation to Support Wind Farm Design
Fugro has been chosen by RWE and National Grid Ventures‘ joint venture, Community Offshore Wind, to conduct a geotechnical study of their New York Bight lease area. The developed lease area has 3GW of offshore wind energy potential, which could power over a million homes in the region and contribute significantly to the US energy transition.
The geotechnical work comes after Fugro finished its site characterization program in 2023. In order to support the concept design of the wind farm, the effort produced a preliminary earth model that detailed geophysical and environmental conditions over the entire 510 km2 lease area, including potential export cable corridors.
Advanced Seabed Testing and Data Analysis
In order to guarantee the safe and effective engineering of the wind turbine foundations, the geotechnical investigation will improve the earth model through seabed sampling and ground condition testing, according to Fugro. Using two vessels, one dedicated to advanced seabed cone penetration tests (CPTs) and the other to seabed sampling and downhole in situ testing, work on the program has begun and will continue throughout the summer.
Fugro is using their SEACALF MkV Deep Drivesystem for the CPT scope, which provides quick, high-quality data acquisition with enhanced safety and up to 40% fewer emissions than conventional technology. Furthermore, near real-time data analysis is made possible by Fugro’s cloud-based Geo data engagement platform, VirGeo, which promotes speedy decision-making and optimized field operations.
Contribution to US Energy Transition
“Our lease area in the New York Bight has the capacity to power more than one million US homes with renewable energy from offshore wind,” stated Doug Perkins, president and project director of Community Offshore Wind. “This survey work is an essential first step toward ensuring that our projects are developed responsibly and sustainably, as well as putting us in a position to help New York and New Jersey meet their nation-leading climate targets and provide new clean energy to communities throughout the region.”
“Leveraging our extensive experience working on offshore renewable energy projects in the region and around the world, Fugro is fully committed to supporting the significant contributions this project will bring to the US energy transition,” said Céline Gerson, president and group director of Fugro in the Americas. “Community Offshore Wind has once again entrusted us to deliver the Geo-data and analysis needed to advance their offshore wind project in the New York Bight.”
