PGE Baltica, a PGE Group company, has selected Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions (GDG) as a geotechnical and structural designer for the ground survey stage of the EWB1 development under the Baltica 1 Project in the offshore wind farm area and along the export cable route.
The scope of activities under the contract includes supervision over the ground survey work for the project using geophysical and geotechnical methods, development of a ground model and conceptual design of foundations for the purposes of subsequent design stages.
Offshore geotechnical surveys are aimed to investigate the ground conditions for the future project, i.e. the Baltica 1 offshore wind farm and the offshore export cable. A detailed knowledge of the ground conditions is a necessary component of the investment process involving the construction of offshore wind farms, the developer said.
Back in 2021, PGE selected GDG to provide geoscience advisory and engineering consultancy services for Baltica 1.
With a capacity of approximately 900 MW, Baltica 1 is one of three projects currently under implementation by the PGE Group in the Polish Baltic Sea.
The wind farm is situated some 80 kilometres from the coastline, roughly off the town of Łeba in the Pomeranian voivodeship.
The project already has a location permit and a connection agreement in place, and the first full year of wind, sea current and wave surveys behind it.
This year, PGE Baltica has started ground surveys for the onshore part of the project and contracted preliminary geotechnical surveys of the seabed as well as geological surveys for the HDD landfall. The Baltica 1 wind farm will be commissioned after 2030.
Two other projects are Baltica 2 and Baltica 3, which will together form the Baltica Offshore Wind Farm with a total capacity of 2.5 GW, and are implemented by the PGE Group jointly with Ørsted.
Construction of the Baltica 2 stage with a capacity of around 1.5 GW is scheduled for completion by the end of 2027, whereas the Baltica 3 stage with a capacity of some 1 GW is to be completed by 2030.