Fugro supports the Netherlands’ energy transition with site investigations for RVO’s Nederwiek wind farm sites II & III (noord)

Fieldwork is scheduled to start in February 2024 and will be conducted using Fugro’s specialised fleet of advanced geotechnical vessels for seabed testing and downhole drilling. These vessels will be equipped with Fugro’s SEACALF® Mk V Deepdrive system for seabed cone penetration testing and WISON® Mk V Ecodrive for downhole sampling and cone penetration testing. In addition to this, onboard laboratory capacity will be increased to ensure faster processing of results. The subsequent extensive laboratory testing will take place in Fugro’s extended laboratories in the UK and Belgium.

Peter-Paul Lebbink, RVO’s Coordinator Soil Characterisation, commented: “With the award of this geotechnical site investigation, RVO will collect another large-scale geotechnical data set, now within the Nederwiek wind farm (noord).  The investigation area is planned for 4 GW of offshore wind, which will be of significant importance for the energy transition in the Netherlands.”

Sven Plasman, Fugro’s Project Director and Government Relationship Manager stated: “This is a significant vote of confidence in our capabilities and our commitment to support the Netherlands' energy transition. Our work will help to ensure that the Netherlands can meet its climate goals and continue to be an example in the field of offshore wind energy. We are proud to play a role in this important work and we look forward to working with RVO to deliver on these contracts."

The data collected by Fugro will be managed through VirGeo®, Fugro’s cloud-based Geo-data engagement platform, and will provide near real-time deliverables to RVO and its consulting engineers. The subsequent phases of further processing, laboratory testing, data analysis, and reporting will continue into 2025.