North Falls Offshore Wind Farm, kicks off the first offshore environmental and geophysical surveys on its array site and along potential cable routes. The surveys, being carried out by marine survey contractor Fugro, will be integral to the project’s environmental impact assessment, with the data collected helping the team to understand the local marine environment.
Together, the 42m Fugro Mercator and 12m Fugro Seeker will conduct geophysical surveys of the seabed, while the 27m Curtis Marshall and will take benthic grab samples and drop-down camera photography of the seabed. The vessels will operate out of Harwich Port and it is expected the surveys will be completed by the late summer. North Falls, a proposed extension to the existing Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm, is located approximately 20 kilometres from the East Anglia coast on a site covering a total of 150 km2. North Falls is owned equally by SSE Renewables and RWE Renewables, who have established a 50/50 joint venture company to develop the project.