GDG to advise on offshore wind in Ireland’s seabed mapping programme

Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions (GDG) will carry out a review of data and information requirements of offshore renewable energy within the INFOMAR seabed mapping programme that has been underway in Ireland.

The Irish geotechnical engineering consultancy has been commissioned by Geological Survey Ireland (GSI), a division of the Department of the Environment Climate and Communications (DECC), which is funding the INFOMAR programme jointly undertaken by the Geological Survey Ireland and the Marine Institute.

The programme is surveying unmapped marine territory and creating a range of integrated mapping products of the physical, chemical, and biological features.

GDG is in charge of delivering and independent and external review of data. The company’s scope of work involves examining INFOMAR’s current outputs and capabilities, and highlighting areas where additional value may be added to support the development of offshore wind in Ireland, but other offshore renewables as well.

“The review will identify the optimum method of using the existing datasets, as well as identifying means of informing the programme in such a way as to address the industry needs in the short term and the long term”, GDG said.

“This assessment will be completed against a 2030 baseline (target installation 5GW/h of ORE – 2020PfG), with short term referring to fixed bottom wind industry needs pre-2030, and long term referring to floating wind industry needs pre and post-2030”.

According to the INFOMAR website the seabed mapping programme will be completed by the end of 2026, with one of its key benefots for offshore renewable energy development being the support that the gathered information will provide for site selection and technology demonstration.