Fraunhofer IWES wraps up survey in Baltic Sea

Fraunhofer IWES has conducted a boulder detection and geohazard survey of 50 turbine locations and the associated OSS at the Baltic Eagle offshore wind project for Iberdrola.

The three-week measurement campaign took place in October and November 2020 using the novel proprietary Manta Ray G1 system developed by Fraunhofer IWES for data recording.

The acquired data is currently being interpreted at the institute, with the goal of completing the project by the end of April.

According to Fraunhofer IWES, the Manta Ray G1 is developed for the purpose of diffraction imaging and the localization of point diffractors within marine sediments.

The system operates on the principle that objects within the seafloor act as point diffractors when illuminated by a signal source. The recording of the resulting acoustic diffractions and accurate processing of the diffracted energy allow localization of the original diffraction, i.e., the boulder in the sediment.

“Fraunhofer IWES is supporting Iberdrola in de-risking the monopile foundations planned in Baltic Eagle by deploying its proprietary boulder imaging technology,” said Benedict Preu, Head of Department Sub-surface Investigations at Fraunhofer IWES.

“Tasks like these showcase our ability to provide tailored solutions for the challenges posed by offshore site investigation. As such, we are making a major contribution to supporting the wind energy industry to overcome the limitations of state of the art technology.”

Located 30 kilometers off the coast of the Rügen island, Baltic Eagle will comprise 52 MHI Vestas V174-9.5 MW turbines.

Iberdrola plans to have the 476 MW offshore wind farm delivered and installed in 2022 and 2023.