Fugro on Salamander metocean survey duty offshore Scotland

Salamander, a joint venture between Ørsted, Simply Blue Group and Subsea 7, has selected Fugro to conduct a metocean survey for the proposed Salamander floating offshore wind project in Scotland.

Scheduled to begin in September, the survey will run for approximately twelve months and gather essential meteorological, oceanographic, and environmental data, said Fugro.

These insights could inform the project’s design, operations, and maintenance strategy, as well as support the planning application process.

“It’s crucial that we understand the influence of the environmental conditions our turbines will be required to operate under. The metocean survey conducted by Fugro will not only be an asset in terms of deciding our windfarm design, but also any future operations and maintenance schedule,” said Huw Bell, Project Director for Salamander.

To facilitate the survey, two floating SEAWATCH Wind LiDAR buoys and a Wavescan buoy will be deployed which will measure wave height, wind and current speed, and other region-specific metrics, enabling a comprehensive assessment of the site’s characteristics and seasonal conditions.

The 100 MW Salamander project is located approximately 35 kilometres east of Peterhead in the Northeast of Scotland, in an outline area of interest of approximately 67 square kilometres with water depths up to 115 metres.

The metocean survey forms part of a series of surveys to be conducted by Salamander before starting the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA).

At the end of last year, the joint venture selected ERM Group company MarineSpace to lead the EIA for its floating offshore wind farm.

The geophysical and environmental surveys were completed in October 2022, with the offshore survey work performed by Ocean Infinity using the Northern Franklin vessel.

The project team aims to submit the necessary consent applications by early 2024, said Fugro.