A year ago, the idea of energy islands was still just a wild idea, but a lot has happened since then. Last summer, the government announced its plans for two energy islands, and since then, a broad agreement has established a timetable and the initial design of the energy island in the North Sea.
Now the next phase of the enormous project begins; the geophysical surveys. To investigate and map the seabed under the future energy island, Energinet has hired Dutch Fugro and Swedish MMT.
- The geophysical surveys must cover a very large area, and it is important that the schedule is kept. We are therefore pleased that two very experienced and professional companies such as Fugro and MMT will be carrying out the surveys at sea in the North Sea in the coming period, says Poul-Jacob Vilhelmsen, project manager for Energinet's work with the upcoming energy islands in Danish waters.
Fugro and MMT will map an area of more than 1,000 square kilometers, covering both the physical dammed island and the 3 GW wind farms that will be connected to the energy island. In addition, the surveys will map where and how the submarine cables will be laid - all with the greatest possible consideration for nature and the environment.
In the survey area, the sea is between 25 meters and 50 meters deep. It is precisely the relatively shallow sea depth and the good wind conditions that make the North Sea suitable for housing offshore wind farms and now also an artificial energy island. However, it is not only the "surface" of the seabed that must be investigated, but also the geological layers down to 100 meters below the seabed.
Both Fugro and MMT have extensive experience in geophysical surveys of the seabed for both wind turbines and oil and gas projects.
A picture of the history of the North Sea
The geophysical conditions on and under the seabed are characterised by the geological history of the Earth as well as by human activities throughout the history of the North Sea.
Fugro and MMT will therefore map everything from sandbanks, reefs created by biological life and boulders, but also shipwrecks in the area from the largest naval battle in world history, the Battle of Jutland in 1916, and they will also have to identify so-called unexploded objects, i.e. typically shells and mines from World War II.
The man-made conditions on the seabed that will be mapped also include existing submarine cables and pipelines as well as more contemporary traces such as waste, fishing equipment and cracks in the seabed from ship anchors, etc.
The geophysical surveys, together with later drilling tests, will result in a detailed, digital mapping of the seabed and the geological layers under the seabed in the entire area under the upcoming artificial reef. energy island in the North Sea and surrounding offshore wind farms.
In the first quarter, more than 200 offshore wind turbines will be installed in addition to the energy island, etc.
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