Fugro streamlines Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind project with Geo-data platform

Fugro has completed the first phase of a two-year contract with Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind to build and manage a centralised, cloud-hosted Geo-data repository for the company’s lease development off the coast of New Jersey in the US.

The web-based engagement platform was recently delivered and utilises Fugro’s Gaia technology to provide Atlantic Shores and their stakeholders with a single source of updated Geo-data and documentation.

Fugro will maintain the Gaia solution until 2022 to help Atlantic Shores achieve streamlined decision‑making and an accelerated project schedule.

”Atlantic Shores is thrilled to leverage Fugro’s Gaia solution for visualising and sharing our wealth of geophysical, geotechnical and environmental data internally with our project team and externally with our stakeholders. Engineering decisions are facilitated, enhanced and expedited from the instant information access that Gaia provides to our team,” Deanne Hargrave, Geoscience Manager for Atlantic Shores, said.

”This comprehensive data solution is advancing the way we work collaboratively and encouraging complete utilisation of the valuable datasets.”

To develop the Geo-data repository, Fugro is integrating public datasets and historical project data with real‑time field data, including information from Fugro’s ongoing metocean, geophysical, geotechnical, and environmental programmes.

The approach is facilitating real‑time tracking of the site characterisation effort, along with an updated ‘digital twin’ ground model of the lease area, Fugro said.

Edward Saade, President of Fugro in the US, said: ”We are pleased to expand our work with Atlantic Shores through this contract and look forward to demonstrating the value of truly integrated Geo-data products and services using Fugro’s Gaia technology for the offshore wind market. As a US industry leader, Atlantic Shores has the potential to make a significant impact to our country’s energy transition, work that aligns perfectly with our own purpose to help build a safe and liveable world.”

Atlantic Shores, a 50:50 joint venture between EDF Renewables North America and Shell New Energies US, holds development rights for an offshore wind zone located some 14 to 32 kilometres off the New Jersey coast, between Barnegat Light and Atlantic City.

The lease area spans across 183,353 ha and has the potential to generate over 3 GW of wind energy.

At the end of last year, the joint venture submitted its proposal to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to supply the state with up to 2,300 MW of offshore wind energy.