Woocheen’s Geotechnical Expertise Advances Clean Offshore Wind Energy

General

Author

Woocheen

Date

September 16, 2022
Ocean Wind One News

This summer, Woocheen’s geotechnical experts helped invest in clean energy with their work on the Ocean Wind 1 project in New Jersey.

Team members from Woocheen’s Marine Services, including Gregg Drilling, conducted a successful geotechnical survey that will support the design of the landfall methods of the cables that will carry power from offshore wind turbines to the shoreline.

“Understanding the nature and strength of the soil underwater is essential to design and install the cable,” said Tim Boyd, chief operating officer at Gregg Drilling. “And the cable is essential to making clean energy available for all to use.”

Woocheen’s work involved two primary services: cone penetration testing, which profiles the soil up to 20 feet below the seabed, and companion drilling and sampling, which removes soil cores for analysis in a lab.

This project was especially noteworthy because of Woocheen’s innovative approach to working in ultra-shallow water. Teams deployed an amphibious carrier - equipped with drilling and cone penetration testing gear - to go from land to water up to 15 feet deep. This vessel can smoothly transition from the surface to floating, which makes for efficient ground investigation in a beach situation like this one.

Novel solutions like that enabled Woocheen to execute its part of the project within three weeks, safely and on time.

“We were operating in Island State Beach Park, a popular spot with peak use starting around the Fourth of July,” Tim said. “We were well organized and very happy to complete our part without affecting the high season at the park, so people could enjoy that beautiful beach.”

The Ocean Wind 1 project was led by Ørsted, a global clean-energy company. Woocheen’s geotechnical experts worked closely with Alpine Ocean Seismic Survey, Inc., on the survey.

“It was a pleasure to work with both organizations on this important project, Tim said.

Woocheen’s teams are now mobilizing again with Alpine Ocean for our next offshore wind geotechnical investigation on the East Coast. We expect to complete this nearshore study for HDD (horizontal directional drilling) and offshore cable routing design sometime in October.

“These are the kinds of projects we will do more of as we continue to invest in people and companies that foster ocean health,” said Woocheen CEO Terry Downes. “Production of clean energy from our oceans could power a significant amount of the world's energy needs within 20 years. We’re proud to be part of it.”