Geotechnical site characterisation challenges for floating offshore wind – a developer’s perspective
Geotechnical site characterisation challenges for floating offshore wind – a developer’s perspective
Site investigation strategies for offshore wind developments vary widely across the industry. These are, amongst others, driven by site complexity and size, particular geohazards, permitting and consenting requirements, certification requirements, potential foundation concept(s) and layout, project schedule and budget constraints, availability and capability of survey vessels and data acquisition systems, and operational constraints.
This article presents typical challenges engineers are faced with when scoping and planning geotechnical and geophysical site investigations during the feasibility and development phases of the offshore wind park. Focus will be given to floating offshore wind developments, which may include many anchor points and significant layout uncertainty. Key considerations are anchor foundation type and the choice to adopt foundation location-specific investigations versus characterizing the site with investigation locations distributed in a grid. The latter implies a risk-based approach to anchor in-place design and installation assessments with the objective to significantly reduce the risk of cost and schedule overrun.
Sjoerd De Wit; J. F. Siermann
5th International Symposium on Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics (ISFOG2025)
1 - Site investigation strategies, geohazards and integrated studies
https://doi.org/10.53243/ISFOG2025-368
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