Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm is due to begin a second round of site survey works next week, as it builds a detailed picture of local ground conditions at various locations along the entire 60km cable route.
Once underway, the installation of the underground export cable will be a huge engineering project supporting local jobs and business opportunities, so the survey results will be crucial to designing the best approach to delivering the works.
The surveys are due to start on Monday, 14 November for a few weeks when teams will investigate 22 sites along the route, using either trial trenching or borehole drilling techniques. All works are taking place on privately owned land with the consent of the landowners. Archaeological (also known as Geophys) surveys will also be taking place, providing information that will help the project identify and mitigate sensitive areas along the route.
The project’s Onshore Cables Package Manager, Martin Knagg said: “The onshore site investigation works are essential to helping us better understand the detailed site-specific ground conditions of the land and environment at key locations along the length of the consented onshore cable corridor. The results will complement the information that we already have, and allow us to refine our designs for the installation and management of the onshore electrical system.
“Triton Knoll is a significant renewable energy project with a huge potential to be a catalyst for jobs, supply chain, economic and skills growth in the region. We are undertaking these works to ensure the project stays on track and can begin delivering its benefits quickly once we start construction.”
The latest works follow an earlier first phase of surveys, which mapped conditions at locations where the cable installation may require the use of horizontal directional drilling (HDD) to drill underneath the likes of rivers and railway lines. Ahead of the second phase, Triton Knoll has liaised extensively with landowners in advance to ensure they are completely up to speed with the work proposed.
All of the survey works are due to take place on privately owned land, and will involve the use of a range of vehicles, ranging from JCB-style tracked excavators, low loaders for delivering equipment and a number of vans for survey personnel.
Consultants will access one of the survey sites located at the back of the dunes at Mogg’s Eye in Anderby Creek, via a public footpath Hutt/10/4, which runs from Sea Bank to Mogg’s Eye. This will enable the movement of vehicles to and from the site and, as a result, safety measures will be in place so that members of the public are kept safe at all times. However, no Public Rights Of Way (PROW) will be closed or diverted as a consequence of the survey activity that is being carried out.
Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm was the largest Round 2 offshore wind farm site to be awarded a licence in 2004 by The Crown Estate, and will be located approximately 32km off the Lincolnshire coast and 50km off the coast of North Norfolk. It is being developed as a joint venture between Innogy Renewables UK Ltd(1) (innogy) (50%) and Statkraft (50%), with innogy managing the project on behalf of the partnership. With an anticipated up to 900MW installed export capacity, the wind farm would have the potential to power up to 800,000(2) UK homes once fully operational.
A Development Consent Order (DCO) for the offshore array was granted by the Secretary of State in July 2013, while consent for the Electrical System was granted in September 2016. For more information about the project, visit our website www.tritonknoll.co.uk
Ends
Contact
Mark Fleming – Triton Knoll Communications Manager
M: 07825 608096
E: mark.fleming@tritonknoll.co.uk
Editor’s notes
(1) Partnership
About innogy SE
innogy SE is the new subsidiary of RWE AG. With its three business segments Grid & Infrastructure, Retail and Renewables, it addresses the requirements of a modern, decarbonised, decentralised and digital energy world. In Renewables we plan, build and operate plants to generate power and extract energy from renewable sources. We aim to rapidly expand renewables in Europe, both on our own and with partners. Further information about innogy, visit: www.innogy.com
About Statkraft
Statkraft is a leading company in hydropower internationally and Europe’s largest generator of renewable energy. The Group produces hydropower, wind power, gas power and district heating and is a global player in energy market operations. Statkraft has 4200 employees in more than 20 countries. Since 2006, Statkraft has invested £1.4 billion in the UK’s renewable energy infrastructure and provided 2.5 GW of renewable energy Power Purchase Agreements (PPA’s). For further information about Statkraft visit: www.statkraft.com
(2) Energy generation
Energy predicted to be generated by the Triton Knoll proposal is derived using long term wind speeds calculated by meteorological models seeded with historical weather data obtained from satellite, surface-based and airborne measurement systems. The energy capture predicted and hence derived homes equivalent or emissions savings figures may change as further data are gathered. Equivalent homes supplied is based on an annual electricity consumption per home of 4500 kWh. This figure is supported by recent domestic electricity consumption data available from The Digest of UK Energy Statistics and household estimates and projections from the UK Statistics Authority.)