USV Fleet Deployed at Dogger Bank D Offshore Wind Farm Site for Geophysical Survey

August 12, 2024, by Adrijana Buljan

A multibeam echosounder (MBES) geophysical survey of the Dogger Bank D offshore wind site, using several uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), is scheduled to start on 13 August.

According to information in the project’s Notice to Mariners, XOCEAN will deploy multiple USVs to survey the wind turbine array site and the export cable route. The USVs will be mobilised from Scarborough or Hartlepool Harbour where each vessel will be escorted out of the harbour limits, before transiting to the survey area.

The survey works will continue until 31 December 2024 when all locations have been surveyed.

The site where the Dogger Bank D offshore wind project is planned to be built is located some 210 kilometres off the UK’s northeast coast, in the eastern zone of the Dogger Bank C lease area.

The project, developed by Equinor and SSE Renewables, is the fourth phase of what is already the world’s biggest offshore wind farm under construction, the 3.6 GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm, and could add a further 2 GW of generation capacity to the development.

In June this year, the developers submitted a Scoping Report for the 2 GW project to the UK’s Planning Inspectorate in preparation for carrying out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that is required for submitting a Development Consent Order (DCO) application.

According to information on the UK’s Planning Inspectorate website, SSE and Equinor are expected to file an application for a DCO in the first quarter of 2025.

In July, Dogger Bank D developers and The Crown Estate established the commercial terms of a proposed variation of the existing Dogger Bank C seabed lease where the two partners plan to build the new offshore wind farm.

If the Dogger Bank D project is approved, it will enter construction in 2029, at the earliest, subject to obtaining all necessary approvals and permits.