Ossian Floating Offshore Wind Farm Completes Extensive Benthic Survey for Critical Export Cable Route Planning
Key Insights
Specialist contractors have completed a month-long benthic survey for the Ossian floating offshore wind farm's 420-kilometer export cable route in Scotland.
The survey collected critical seabed data, including photographs and samples from 122 sites, to inform engineering and environmental impact assessments.
This campaign follows earlier geophysical and wind data collection efforts, advancing the 3.6 GW project towards identifying viable subsea cable pathways.
The Ossian project, a joint venture by SSE Renewables, Marubeni, and CIP, aims to power up to six million homes annually with floating offshore wind.
Specialist contractors have successfully concluded a comprehensive benthic survey along a 420-kilometer stretch of seabed, a critical step for the proposed Ossian floating offshore wind farm in Scotland. The month-long campaign, completed recently, gathered essential environmental and geological data across 122 distinct sites, spanning from the wind farm array 84 kilometers off the east coast of Aberdeenshire southward to the landfall point in Lincolnshire.
This extensive data collection, encompassing photographs, video footage, and physical samples of the seabed at depths reaching 100 meters, is pivotal for the project’s subsequent development phases. "The survey was carried out over a vast area of the North Sea, from the proposed wind farm array 84 km off the east coast of Aberdeenshire, stretching south to Lincolnshire. Photographs, video, and samples of the seabed were all gathered at depths of up to of 100 m,” stated Anne-Charlotte Gaillard, benthic survey project manager for Ossian. She added, “This data will support Ossian’s engineering and development teams and Environmental Impact Assessment consultants in identifying viable routes for the offshore export cables.” The identification of optimal cable routes is a significant factor in minimizing environmental disturbance and optimizing project costs.
The benthic campaign follows a comprehensive geophysical survey completed in January 2025, which utilized uncrewed survey vessels over a 13-month period to provide high-quality geophysical information and early insights into seabed characteristics. This phased approach to site assessment underscores the meticulous planning involved in large-scale offshore wind developments. Additionally, a two-year wind data collection campaign for the Ossian site concluded in May, further de-risking the project’s resource assessment.
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 ideally suited for the deployment of floating offshore wind turbine technology. With a potential installed capacity of up to 3.6 GW, the project is projected to generate enough clean electricity to power approximately six million homes annually, significantly contributing to the UK’s renewable energy targets and energy security.