Fugro

Fugro was awarded a geotechnical site investigation contract by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl) for the Ten noorden van de Waddeneilanden Wind Farm Zone (TNWWFZ), a Dutch North Sea offshore wind area planned to accommodate approximately 700 MW. The deliverable to RVO.nl was a geotechnical data package intended to support the preparation of an integrated geological and geotechnical ground model, which future offshore wind farm developers would use as a basis for tendering and early engineering. The offshore campaign was scheduled to take place from February to May 2020 and was structured in two phases. Phase 1 comprised a shallow subsurface investigation. Phase 2 comprised a borehole drilling programme together with standard and advanced laboratory testing on recovered samples, enabling interpretation of key parameters relevant to foundation concept selection and cable and infrastructure planning. Fugro highlighted the use of its seabed and downhole tools during the work programme. Overall, the contract formed part of the Dutch government’s programme of collecting standardized site data for offshore wind farm zones to reduce uncertainty and accelerate permitting and competitive tender processes for future developments in the Netherlands.