Surveys starting at ‘first-of-its-kind’ UK-Netherlands multi-purpose interconnector

Italy-headquartered Next Geosolutions is about to kick off a cable route survey in the UK for the LionLink multi-purpose interconnector that will connect the UK with the Netherlands.

LionLink, being developed by the Dutch TenneT and the UK’s National Grid, will connect a Dutch offshore wind farm with a capacity of 2 GW to both countries via subsea interconnectors.

The cable route survey includes two landfalls, Walberswick and Southwold, Suffolk. The two corridors combine into a single route continuing northeast to the Dutch Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Next Geolsolutions plans to commence the work on or around May 15 and will see the detailed marine and geotechnical survey works undertaken by the vessels Ievoli Cobalt, Ievoli Amber, Ievoli Grey, Shore Presence, Shore Possibility.

The survey for the entire cable route is expected to take approximately 156 days, weather-dependent.

The scope is divided into marine geophysical surveys offshore, nearshore and intertidal, as well as marine geotechnical surveys offshore and marine ROV utility crossing surveys offshore.

In the offshore area, the data will be acquired by the Ievoli Amber (geophysical) and Ievoli Cobalt (geophysical and ROV utility crossing survey), both working 24 hours. The survey vessels shall be supported by Ardent tasked with scouting areas before the survey.

The Netherlands and the UK unveiled their plan to build what they say would be a first-of-its-kind electricity link to connect offshore wind between the two countries via interconnections in April 2023.

UK energy market regulator Ofgem granted an electricity interconnector license for LionLink in July last year.