Iberdrola Initiates Extensive Surveys for Landmark 3 GW Offshore Wind Project, Bolstering Global Renewable Ambitions
Key Insights
Specialist contractors have completed a month-long benthic survey for the Ossian floating offshore wind farm's 420-kilometer export cable route off Scotland's east coast.
The survey collected seabed data, including photographs and samples from 122 sites at depths up to 100 meters, to inform cable routing and environmental assessments.
This critical data follows earlier geophysical and wind data campaigns, advancing the 3.6 GW project's development, which aims to power six million homes.
The Ossian project, a joint venture by SSE Renewables, Marubeni, and CIP, leverages deep water depths suitable for floating offshore wind technology.
Specialist contractors have successfully concluded a comprehensive benthic survey along a 420-kilometer stretch of seabed for the proposed Ossian floating offshore wind farm, a critical step in advancing the project’s export cable infrastructure. Completed in early July 2025, the month-long campaign gathered vital environmental data from 122 distinct sites, extending from the wind farm array 84 kilometers off the east coast of Aberdeenshire south to landfall in Lincolnshire. This extensive data collection is fundamental for identifying viable routes for the offshore export cables, which will transmit up to 3.6 GW of renewable energy, sufficient to power approximately six million homes annually.
Anne-Charlotte Gaillard, benthic survey project manager for Ossian, emphasized the survey's scope, stating, "The survey was carried out over a vast area of the North Sea, from the proposed wind farm array stretching south to Lincolnshire. Photographs, video, and samples of the seabed were all gathered at depths of up to 100 meters." This detailed information will directly support Ossian’s engineering and development teams, as well as Environmental Impact Assessment consultants, in making informed decisions regarding subsea infrastructure placement.
The benthic campaign follows the successful completion of a geophysical survey in January 2025, which utilized uncrewed survey vessels over a 13-month period to provide high-quality seabed characteristics data. Additionally, a two-year wind data collection campaign for the Scottish wind farm concluded in May, further solidifying the project's foundational data sets. These sequential surveys underscore the meticulous planning and extensive data acquisition required for large-scale offshore wind developments in challenging deep-water environments.
The Ossian floating offshore wind farm is a joint venture between SSE Renewables, Marubeni, and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP). The lease area, characterized by average water depths of 72 meters, is particularly well-suited for the deployment of floating offshore wind turbine technology, which is essential for harnessing wind resources in deeper coastal waters where traditional fixed-bottom foundations are not economically or technically feasible. The project's substantial capacity potential positions it as a significant contributor to Scotland's and the UK's renewable energy targets, reinforcing the region's leadership in the global floating offshore wind sector.