Geoquip Wraps Geotechnical Survey at Oriel Wind Farm Location

Offshore geotechnical firm Geoquip has completed a month-long geotechnical survey at the Oriel wind farm location offshore Ireland.

This work complements last year’s geophysical survey campaign completed during August 2019 by Irish company Alpha Marine. 

"The data collected during these surveys is essential as it not only contributes to the foundation design but also to the future wind farm layout," offshore wind farm developer Parkwind said.

The Oriel offshore wind farm is in the development stage and is located approximately 22km off the coast of Dundalk.

Peter Caluwaerts, Parkwind’s Project Director said: “Lead developer Parkwind and its partner ESB continue to invest in these crucial surveys to be in a position to deliver on the timing for offshore wind put forward by the Irish government in its Climate Action Plan and leading up to the RESS auction scheduled for 2021.”

According to Parkwind, the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis in the midst of the geotechnical campaign led to the implementation of strict additional safety measures on board to ensure operations were executed in a safe manner. 

This included the requirement for the drilling ship to stay offshore for the duration of the campaign, Parkwind said.

“We would like to thank the fishing communities in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland for their constructive attitude and collaboration throughout the duration of these activities,” added Garrett Connell, Project Manager. “Their support has helped us complete this crucial project step enabling us to continue the project design phase and we are fully committed to continue our collaboration and build on this positive engagement as we move the project forward.”

The Oriel Windfarm, to be located in the North Irish Sea off the County Louth Coast, to the East of Dundalk Bay, will have a capacity of 330 MW. The project is being jointly developed by Parkwind NV and ESB.