The debate over finding new energy sources has gained new urgency in the last two years. Geothermal energy, solar power and shore-side wind farms are becoming increasingly familiar to the US public, and approval has recently been given for the first offshore wind farm to be constructed in the United States, off Cape Cod.

The technology is already familiar in Europe, where the world’s largest offshore wind farm – 209 MW Horns Rev 2 – was inaugurated in September 2009, in waters near Denmark. As of September 2009, the UK was the world’s largest generator of offshore wind power and in January 2010 nine European countries had operational wind farms in their territorial waters (UK, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Belgium) with farms under construction or proposed in Italy, Canada, Latvia and China as well as the US.

Bring Tried and True Methods to a New Technology….

This is a rapidly expanding new technology, but the requirements in terms of seabed surveying before a wind farm can be built are very close to the requirements for an oil and gas installation, and in fact for any offshore installation. AOA Geophysics has many years experience in site surveys for offshore installations which we can bring to bear on the new search for suitable sites to generate offshore wind power.

A multi-disciplinary approach is required.

(Diagram courtesy of OffshoreWind.net North American Offshore Wind Project Information.)

Once the location has been chosen, and an approximate water depth is known, the turbine design is decided, which will lead to a plan for the turbine layout and a choice of support structure. A desk-top study to find all existing public data can be useful, but the major part of the site assessment will be a geophysical survey, a geotechnical survey and a met ocean study. AOA Geophysics can help you design and implement geophysical and geotechnical surveys and put you in contact with industry partners who are expert in met ocean data acquisition and interpretation.

Whatever the foundation type, the survey requirements will include accurate bathymetry, a seafloor map, assessment of sub-surface layers with geotechnical parameters and the cataloging of all geohazards, such that an accurate geological model can be built for foundation design.  This will require use of multibeam and single beam bathymetry, sidescan sonar, subbottom profilers and an accurately targeted borehole and sea bed cone penetrometer testing (CPT) program with appropriate borehole geophysics and sampling, followed by laboratory testing.  AOA Geophysics is experienced in the collection and interpretation of data from all these instruments.

Let AOA Geophysics assist you with the survey for your next offshore wind farm.

Except wind stands as never it stood

It is an ill wind turns none to good.

Thomas Tusser (c. 1515 – 1580)