Coastline Surveys has completed a geotechnical investigation for Navitus Bay. It relates to the seabed cable route for EDF's and Eneco's planned offshore wind farm. The up to 1.1GW project is slated for a site in the English Channel, off Dorset and the Isle of Wight.
Deploying its 24m survey vessel, MV Flatholm, Coastline undertook sampling at 22 locations along the proposed cable route. The route runs from the shoreline to approximately 19km off shore. It was expected that marine sands overlaying bedrock would be found. In fact, the site was found to comprise a variety of soils, ranging from soft silts to dense sand and clays. Lab testing and reporting was completed at Coastline’s Lowestoft facility.
Mike Unsworth, project manager, said: "The breadth and depth of knowledge of the ocean floor that the geotechnical investigation has given us is vital to the technical development of Navitus Bay." The project's scale, layout and location were revised last year. The consent application is expected to be submitted in early 2014. If given the go-ahead, it could come on stream by 2020.
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