Vietnamese Offshore Wind Farm in Survey Mode

Non-intrusive magnetometer surveys and a side-scan sonar (SSS) survey have been carried out at the Tra Vinh offshore wind farm in Vietnam.

The survey area, located within the Duyên Hải district, comprised a 300m corridor, 4km long, with the main transmission line at its center, for a total surface of 1.2km2.

The region is said to be contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO) and explosive remnants of war (ERW) as it saw intense fighting in the 1960s and 1970s.

The first survey phase, performed with side-scan sonar, was completed in three days and allowed the identification of obstructions that may affect the towed magnetometer survey and the imaging of objects on the seabed.

Then, the side-scan survey followed with a magnetic survey using a towed magnetometer array, which took approximately 10 days to complete.

Many magnetic contacts were identified with multiple surface correlations with the data gathered during the side-scan survey, of which most were discounted and sixty-five remained. This data was then used to reassess the site design.

In May, Tra Vinh Wind Power held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction of the Korea- Tra Vinh wind farm (Phase 1), which will comprise 24 Vestas 2MW turbines.

The 48MW wind project, expected to be completed by September 2020, is the first of two phases of a planned 144MW intertidal project.

The original article has been amended on 22 August.