TGS, a global leader in energy data and intelligence, has successfully completed the acquisition of an ultra-high-resolution 3D (UHR3D) survey on behalf of Community Offshore Wind in the New York Bight. The survey characterized soil conditions at the site, which is critical for designing the offshore wind project. The survey commenced in October 2023 and had a total duration of more than eight months.
Community Offshore Wind, a joint venture between RWE and National Grid Ventures, won the largest parcel in the competitive lease sale off the coasts of New York and New Jersey, held in February 2022 by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The lease area has the potential to host 3 gigawatts (GW) of capacity, enough to power over one million homes and businesses.
TGS was contracted to acquire UHR3D data over the entire lease, providing significantly more detailed information about the near-surface geology than traditional site surveys, which have historically used 2D technology. The survey was conducted by the TGS vessel Sanco Swift, and this was the second offshore wind site characterization project for TGS.
Carel Hooijkaas, EVP of New Energy Solutions at TGS, commented, “The acquisition of UHR3D seismic over the full lease will provide Community Offshore Wind with a solid foundation to develop their offshore wind farm site in the New York Bight. Our geophysical approach?to mapping and understanding the shallow subsurface layers will reduce uncertainty and speed up site characterization. We have received considerable interest in our solution from pioneering developers, and this high demand has driven our decision to invest in an additional UHR3D streamer set, which will be in operation in a few weeks' time.”
“Community Offshore Wind is using the latest technology to study how the soil behaves in our lease area, so that we can engineer our project effectively and in a way that’s environmentally friendly,” said Doug Perkins, President and Project Director of Community Offshore Wind. “We are building a project that is going to generate clean energy for communities in the US Northeast for roughly 30 years, so precision is key for building a project of this scale. The data acquired from the survey allows to plan with more precision and certainty than ever before.”