Geotechnical surveys at Hornsea Three to begin in April

Ørsted is set to kick off a geotechnical survey campaign at the Hornsea Three offshore wind project in the UK starting from April.

The 90-meter long survey vessel Connector Express will start the survey on 1 April at the project site located off the coast of East Yorkshire, and works are expected to last for approximately 70 days.

Completion is expected by 31 May, however, the exact dates are dependent on mobilization time, weather and work progress.

Ørsted recently awarded Fugro with a contract to carry out geotechnical site investigations at the Hornsea Three and Hornsea Four offshore wind projects.

The Danish company acquired the rights to develop the Hornsea zone, comprising four projects, in 2015 from SMart Wind, which originally secured the development rights in the UK Round 3 offshore wind auction.

The UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) gave the development consent to the 2.4 GW Hornsea Three on 31 December 2020.

The 1.2 GW Hornsea One offshore wind farm is already operational, while the 1.32 GW Hornsea Two is currently under construction with full commissioning expected this year.

The Development Consent Order (DCO) application for Hornsea Four was submitted to the UK Planning Inspectorate in October last year and the project is currently going through the planning process.