Ocean Infinity to survey Buchan wind site

Floating Energy Allyance (FEA) has selected Ocean Infinity to carry out an initial geophysical and geotechnical site investigation at its Buchan floating offshore wind project in Scotland.

Floatgen floating wind turbine; Photo: BW Ideol

This represents an important step in the design and assessment process of the project, with the survey campaign taking place later this year, according to FEA.

“We are delighted to work with an innovative team of technology and data specialists such as Ocean Infinity. Acquiring seabed data represents an essential part within the project development process and we look forward to engaging with our local stakeholders throughout the survey campaign”, said Alasdair MacLeod, Project Director of Buchan Offshore Wind.

Floating Energy Allyance, a consortium comprising BW Ideol, Elicio, and BayWa r.e., secured the rights for the project site at the beginning of last year through the ScotWind leasing round.

The consortium plans to build a floating offshore wind farm with a capacity of approximately 1 GW, whose wind turbines will be installed on BW Ideol’s Damping Pool floating foundations.

The developer selected Natural Power to lead the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Buchan floating offshore wind project.

At the end of last year, a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) device was deployed at the site, around 75 kilometres off the Aberdeenshire coast, to measure wind, metocean, and environmental conditions of the project in the North Sea.