Celtic Sea surveys to gather data in support of floating offshore wind

Specialist survey vessels are getting ready for a series of studies in the Celtic Sea aimed at gathering data to accelerate the development of floating offshore wind farms.

In 2021, UK national landowner The Crown Estate announced plans to explore a potential leasing opportunity for the first commercial-scale floating wind projects to be located in the Celtic Sea.

The Crown Estate has now progressed with the next phase of the programme, which will see technical and environmental surveys being conducted.

The geophysical surveys will begin in summer and will be conducted by Fugro. The survey vessel team will use towed and hull-mounted sensors to collate information on the seabed and sub-seabed properties.

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According to The Crown Estate, data from these studies will provide a greater understanding of the properties of the Celtic Sea and will act as a valuable resource for developers as part of the planned floating wind leasing round.

The survey results will be freely available to successful bidders to help inform early engineering design decisions.

Developers can also use the data to support any future project-level Environmental Impact Assessments.

Nicola Clay, head of New Ventures for Marine at The Crown Estate, said: “These surveys will provide a valuable addition to The Crown Estate’s world-leading bank of marine data and evidence, but they also mark an important milestone as we seek to realise the opportunities presented by floating offshore wind."

Clay reiterated that the seabed is a complex ecosystem supporting natural habitats, industries and renewable energy. It is therefore critical to account for and engage with as many seabed stakeholders to de-risk offshore projects.

“We continue to support the UK Government as it considers the competing demands in the Celtic Sea, and look forward to bringing developers together again soon to set out the next steps towards realising the opportunities presented by floating offshore wind,” added Clay.

In May 2023, The Crown Estate provided an update to developers stating that the "Celtic Sea is subject to many competing demands and there are a number of spatial considerations and policy drivers that the UK Government is now working to resolve".

The recently awarded contracts for geophysical surveys are the latest efforts by The Crown Estate to better understand the physical and environmental properties of the Celtic Sea, with contracts for metocean surveys announced in December 2022.