Wind Energy – RVO
Fraunhofer IWES was commissioned by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) to further develop the 565 km² Doordewind Wind Farm Zone (DDWWFZ).
The contract, lasting two years includes the planning of upcoming offshore geotechnical site investigations in DDWWFZ, the development of a fully Integrated Ground model (IGM) for the entire Investigation Area, and the preparation of a comprehensive Geotechnical Interpretative Report (GIR). The project aims to prepare, interpret and integrate marine exploration data to enable potential investors to assess the cable, layout and foundation conditions within the DDWWFZ and assist their preparation and submission of bids within the Wind Farm Zone.
The development of Investigation Areas of offshore wind farm sites requires the processing and integration of all available data and exploration results from a series of exploration campaigns over the respective areas. The integration of exploration data from geophysical and geotechnical surveys represents a development task that is specially commissioned and requires specific expertise and experience in handling and processing marine data.
To develop a fully integrated ground model (IGM), all subsoil exploration data, whether geophysical or geotechnical (from three geophysical and two geotechnical campaigns at DDWWFZ), are harmonized, reprocessed, reinterpreted, integrated and incorporated in an IGM. Predicted geotechnical parameters can then be generated across the area, which enable flexible planning of wind farm layouts, and can be used in the conceptual and detailed technical design of offshore wind turbine foundations.
In parallel, a geotechnical laboratory testing program will be designed to perform laboratory tests on the marine soil samples. The results of the geotechnical laboratory tests will be evaluated, interpreted, and integrated into the IGM and the parameterization process of the GIR. Both reports will be issued to RVO, which will publish these documents in the public domain for future investors.
