RWE Renewables has appointed ABPmer to support the design of the Awel y Môr Offshore Wind Farm in the Irish Sea. ABPmer is assessing the sediment mobility and scour potential at the wind farm site, located in a dynamic area of seabed off the north Wales coast.The work will be used to help support export cable route selection, as well as inform the ongoing wind turbine foundation and array/export cable design process. To map the behavioural characteristics of the seabed across the wind farm site and export cable corridor, ABPmer will analyse oceanographic data from its Seastates metocean database, recent and historic seabed surveys, and geophysical data specifically collected for the project. High resolution hydrodynamic and sediment transport modelling are also being used to map the detail of long-term regional scale sediment transport pathways. GIS analysis of coastal data will also be undertaken to consider the potential for coastal erosion and vertical change in beach levels at the landfall over the project lifetime, supporting the landfall selection and design process. The Awel y Môr detailed design will continue through 2022, with the wind farm targeting 2030 to be fully operational.
