Salamander, a joint venture between Ørsted, Simply Blue Group and Subsea7, has launched floating LiDAR and wave buoys as part of the metocean campaign for the proposed floating offshore wind farm project off the North East of Scotland. The survey, conducted by Fugro, will run for 12 months and produce insights which will inform the project's design, operations, and maintenance strategy, as well as support the planning application process. Two floating Seawatch Wind Lidar Buoys and a Wavescan buoy have been deployed to gather meteorological, oceanographic, and environmental site data. These include wave height, wind and current speed and other region-specific metrics. The metocean survey forms part of a series of surveys to be conducted by Salamander before starting the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Habitat Regulations Appraisal (HRA). The project team aims to submit the necessary consent applications by early 2024.
