Geoscience and Offshore Wind JIP
Project Overview
Title: Developing 3D ground modelling workflows using publically available subsurface datasets
This project is part of the Geoscience and Offshore Wind Joint Industry Programme, and a partnership between RWE, SSE Renewables, Vattenfall, and Geosolutions Leeds.
It seeks to blend geological and geotechnical approaches to develop 3D ground models that permit cost effective and safe turbine foundations and cable route design (Fig. 1).
Figure 1: Recommended integrated three-dimensional ground models that capture sediment mobility, and integrate geophysical, geological (including geomorphological) and geotechnical information. From Velenturf et al. (2021).
The uptake of three dimensional geological models as a standard approach is particularly important in many prospective development areas, such as the North Sea and Irish Sea, where the subsurface stratigraphy has been demonstrated to be highly heterogeneous, undermining cost-effective placement of monopoles.
A scenariobased approach will be undertaken with different grid designs and monopile depths showing a range of intersections with the substrate. Grid resolution is a particularly important consideration as future developments in offshore wind are focused on very large turbines.
The workflow will accommodate future innovations in ground model development such as dynamic bathymetry, and sediment mobility layers, to account for the substrate architecture and erodibility with seabed hydrodynamics. Improved modelling of sediment suspension and scour would assist the modelling of habitat creation and modification provided by hard surface creation to increase seabed biodiversity.
To minimise issues around data confidentiality and sharing of outcomes, we will use publically available data. Prospective areas include offshore Netherlands, and the Irish Sea. Any dataset that is documented in detail will also reveal new insights into palaeoenvironmental change in the North Sea during the Quaternary. Although the main deliverable will be workflows for integration of geotechnical and geological datasets in 3D geological models.