Community Offshore Wind, a U.S. joint venture between RWE Renewables and National Grid, has awarded Fugro an offshore survey contract to support site appraisal and concept design activities in the New York Bight.
The joint venture was last year succesful in a joint bid in the New York Bight offshore lease auction which it secured area OCS-A 0539 with a winning bid of $1.1 billion. The awarded seabed has the potential to host 3 gigawatts (GW) of capacity, enough to power 1.1 million U.S. homes.
Fugro's survey work will start this year with the majority being executed in 2023, detailing geophysical and environmental conditions within the 510 km2 lease area.
Operating from a local port, Fugro is dedicating two vessels to the project. Survey teams will use hull-mounted sensors to generate full-coverage surface and subsurface Geo-data over the lease area to a nominal depth of 15 m below the seafloor, Fugro said.
While deeper subsurface Geo-data will still be required in targeted areas for foundation engineering, Fugro said its survey approach would enable Community Offshore Wind to start a geotechnical program ahead of standard development schedules.
Survey Geo-data and consultancy services for the project will be delivered through Fugro’s regional centre of expertise for offshore wind, located in Norfolk, Virginia.
The offshore wind project is expected to be in operation toward the end of the decade.