MMT to Survey Dutch Offshore Wind Zone

The Netherlands Enterprise Agency has awarded MMT with a contract to perform a geophysical soil investigation of the Ten Noorden van de Waddeneilanden wind farm zone.

Project preparations are currently underway, with the fieldwork planned to be performed in July and August from MMT’s survey vessel Franklin.

The geophysical survey comprises the collection of high-resolution bathymetry and seabed imagery, in addition to determining the exact, current position of existing cables and pipelines. Ultimately, a geological ground model of the site will be established by using both a parametric echosounder and a 2D UHRS system.

The objective of the geophysical soil investigation is to contribute to the bathymetrical, morphological and geological understanding of the area. Ultimately the data will be used by offshore wind farm developers to prepare bids for this site.

The 700MW Ten Noorden van de Waddeneilanden zone is part of the government’s Offshore Wind Energy Roadmap 2030 which sets out plans for the development of 7GW of offshore wind capacity in the 2024-2030 period.

In addition to this 700MW zone, the wind farms to be prepared in the coming years will be located at the 1.4GW Hollandse Kust (west) and the 4GW IJmuiden Far Offshore (IJmuiden Ver) zones.

The tenders for the zones will be opened from 2021 onward, starting with the Hollandse Kust (West), and the projects are expected to be commissioned between 2024 and 2030.