Fugro unleashing Blue Snake at North Sea Energy Island

Fugro has secured a new contract with Denmark’s Energinet to undertake cable route surveys for the North Sea Energy Island project.

The North Sea Energy Island will serve as an offshore power plant distributing up to 10 GW of offshore wind to Denmark and other neighbouring markets.

Fugro will perform a combination of geophysical, geotechnical services, and laboratory testing to provide insight into the ground engineering challenges along the cable route from the Danish landfalls to the future artificial island location.

”Energinet is looking forward to take another important step with the Cable Route Survey to the North Sea Energy Island together with the experienced team from Fugro,” said Søren Stricker Mathiasen, Contract Manager for Energinet’s work on the future energy islands in Danish waters.

Fugro’s dedicated survey vessels will mobilise to site in March 2022 to begin the geophysical and geotechnical surveys. This will include remotely operated vehicle (ROV) inspections and shallow geotechnical investigations using Fugro’s Blue Snake geotechnical system.

Sven Plasman, Fugro’s Principal Commercial Manager, said: ”With our team of expert geoconsultants and the latest innovative technology, such as Fugro Blue Snake, we’re able to provide clients with the best possible Geo-data to support the attainment of their sustainability goals.”

The Blue Snake is said to integrate cone penetration testing (CPT) and sampling technology to enable data to be captured in a single pass with testing completed consecutively at fixed distances along the cable route. The system integrates a high-performance vibrocorer and 10 ton CPT into a single frame with a customised launch and recovery system – minimising manual handling and improving workability in difficult weather conditions, Fugro said. This innovative technology is said to optimise data correlation, improving design and engineering for future cable installation works.

”Energinet will benefit from our integrated services by enhanced safety and improved project efficiency. Our vessels, equipment, planning, and execution methods meet the needs of such a complex assignment and will also help us manage difficult metocean conditions,” Mathijs Hogerwerf, Commercial Manager at Fugro, said.

This Energy Island contract follows on from two geotechnical site investigation contracts as well as a marine site characterisation contract awarded to Fugro earlier this year.

Fugro is also supporting Energinet with wind-resource mapping after installing and operating wind lidar buoys in both the Baltic Sea and North Sea.

The North Sea Energy Island will be an artificial island constructed 80 kilometres from the shore of the peninsula Jutland. Around 200 wind turbines with a combined capacity of 3 GW are expected to be installed in the first phase of the project by 2030.