Globally, the capacity ambitions for offshore wind are huge. And as the world expedites the transition to renewable energy, one of the essential future sources for large volumes of green electricity worldwide is floating offshore wind. This innovative technology will mitigate many of the limitations of traditional fixed bottom wind such as shallow water depths and the need for favourable sea-bed conditions, whilst liberating otherwise inaccessible wind resources in remote marine environments.
However, developing a floating offshore wind farm comes with unique engineering challenges including seabed risks, geohazards, foundation or anchor design and dynamic cable management.
As an integrated geoscience and geotechnical consultancy, we can build upon our existing ground risk management, cable engineering and anchor design capabilities, to ‘bridge the gap’ between the anchors and floating technology.
Cathie plays a leading role in the provision of the following expert consultancy services:
1. Ground risk management for floating projects (site investigation)
2. Anchor loading assessment, selection and design
As the market develops, we can also leverage our expert knowledge of the seabed to bridge the gap between the various anchor types and floating wind technology, by supporting the following activities:
3. Floating technology selection support
4. Mooring system selection and optimization, in conjunction with naval architect partners.
5. Static (export) and dynamic cable analysis and design