Building on the success of their Seabed Intelligence Reports (SIRs) covering the Irish and UK regions of the Celtic Sea, Global Maritime’s Geosciences department, GM Geo, are launching a new SIR focusing on the six Potential Development Zones included in Portugal’s first offshore wind auction.
The SIR is a valuable source of information for developers with an interest in early development of any of the primary or secondary boundaries proposed by General Directorate of Natural Resources, Security and Maritime Services (DGRM). For those seeking to identify preferential areas, the SIR provides comprehensive insights into the geology; geohazards; geotechnical properties; anthropogenic and environmental constraints; and metocean conditions, of this exciting new market for offshore wind.
The SIR investigates seabed conditions across the area of search, identifying principal strata and the suitability/risk implications for the development of floating offshore wind farms whilst subdividing the area of search into provinces of similar geological and geotechnical conditions to be considered in the development and engineering process. Qualitative assessments of risk for different subsea infrastructure are made, and outline risk mitigations provided. The study also considers the implications of existing marine traffic, seabed wrecks, infrastructure, environmental designations and other marine uses on the siting and development of offshore wind projects.
Accompanying the detailed SIR are a series of maps and drawings presenting spatial information and interpretation of conditions across the continental shelf. The SIR comes with a data pack containing all geospatial datasets discussed in the main report to enable developers to carry out their own, in-house analysis.
Gareth Ellery, Director of Geosciences at Global Maritime, commented: “The Portuguese west coast is a great location in terms of resource and constraints for offshore wind, and the ambitious 10 GW target reflects the great potential available.
Following the success of our initial SIR products we’re pleased to be further supporting Portugal’s offshore wind journey with this latest SIR. Being proactive in this manner means that our clients can have access to high quality seabed intelligence to inform their leasing and development approach, whilst saving huge amounts of time and expense in the conventional RfP procurement process.”
Liam Murray, Global Maritime’s Global Business Lead for Geospatial Information Systems, commented: “The announcement of up to 10 GW of new wind capacity in Portugal is fantastic news for both domestic energy security, and for global efforts towards net zero. The proposed zones benefit from some of the highest wind speeds in Europe; and the zones’ physical characteristics mean there will be opportunities to develop and deploy industry-first technologies at scale. However, the region also presents key challenges in the form of geological uncertainty and variability, geohazards, and a limited pool of existing projects to draw lessons from.
Our latest SIR aims to address these challenges by comprehensively exploring geological, geotechnical, physical, and environmental characteristics of importance to offshore wind development. It is an essential tool for identifying priority zones and forming the foundation of the next stage of development.”
About Global Maritime
Global Maritime is a marine, offshore and engineering consultancy that specializes in marine warranty, dynamic positioning and engineering services. Known for innovation, practical experience, operational excellence, & safety.
Founded in 1979, and majority-owned by Private Equity Fund HitecVision, Global Maritime’s services span the entire offshore project lifecycle from engineering & design, construction and third party verification through to marine warranty surveying, dynamic positioning, installation, risk management and decommissioning.
