Fugro Makes Hollandse Kust (Noord) Comeback

Fugro will carry out a site characterization program with its geotechnical drilling vessel Fugro Synergy at the Hollandse Kust (Noord) offshore wind farm zone as part of a further contract with the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl).

Fugro’s work scope includes seabed investigations and borehole drilling at two lots, as well as standard and advanced laboratory testing and an integrated geological/geotechnical soil model which will be used by future developers of the wind farm to prepare their bids.

According to Fugro, the fieldwork will take place between April and June and will see the deployment of the company’s two most recent technical innovations, expected to enhance safety and bring improved operational efficiency to the project.

“From Fugro Synergy we’ll operate the Fugro SEADEVIL®, an offshore geotechnical tool that optimises vertical control during drilling and enables our team to acquire high quality samples,” said Sven Plasman, Fugro’s Project Director.

“The seabed cone penetration testing (CPT) will be carried out using our SEACALF MkIV system; its coiled rod requires no manual handling, ensuring safer operations, while the continuous drive system yields high quality data. Both of these innovative systems are fundamental to reducing operational costs and are integral elements of Fugro’s specialised support for the offshore wind industry.”

In August last year, Fugro conducted a geophysical survey of the Hollandse Kust (Noord) area to map the seabed and position of existing cables and pipelines, as well as the possible presence of shipwrecks and other obstacles.

Located off the west coast of the Netherlands, the 700MW Hollandse Kust (Noord) wind farm zone subsidy and permit tender is scheduled for 2019.

The Netherlands has six offshore wind sites in the pipeline at two Hollandse Kust zones: four at Hollandse Kust (Zuid), and two at Hollandse Kust (Noord). Each of the sites at the wind farm zones can accommodate 350MW.