Wind Energy – Geophysical Survey
Ignitis Renewables has awarded Fugro a contract to conduct a geophysical survey at Lithuania’s first offshore wind farm site.
This critical step in the project’s development aims to enhance the understanding of seabed conditions, which will inform the location, construction and design of future wind turbines at the Baltic Sea.
Fugro’s designated geophysical survey vessel, the Fugro Frontier, is currently on-site in the Baltic Sea surveying the 120 square-kilometre area, collecting 2D ultra-ultra-high-resolution (UUHR) sub-surface data, as well as bathymetry, sidescan sonar, and magnetometer data.
The 2,000 survey line kilometres of high-quality data collected will be crucial for characterising the site and identifying potential risks to an offshore wind farm development in this area. These insights will inform the selection of future geotechnical investigations and help create a detailed ground model that Ignitis Renewables will use to determine the optimal wind turbine foundation design and locations.
Scheduled to begin operations by 2030, the 700 megawatt (MW) offshore wind farm will generate up to 3 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity annually, which would meet up to a quarter of Lithuania’s current electricity demand.
