The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has awarded two contracts for environmental surveying services required for the development of a floating offshore wind turbine at the Atlantic Marine Energy Test Site (AMETS).
The tender was divided into three lots, including ornithology, marine mammals and benthos.
Irish Whale and Dolphin Group secured a contract for lot 2, concerning marine mammals. The deal was concluded on 17 January.
Marine and Environmental Resource and Conservation (MERC) Consultants was awarded a contract for lot 3, concerning benthos, which was concluded on 1 November 2019.
The ornithology contract from the first lot was not awarded as no tenders or requests to participate were received or all were rejected.
In March 2019, a consortium led by the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) secured funding to test Saipem’s floating wind technology at AMETS.
Saipem recently applied for permission to carry out geophysical, geotechnical and ecological surveys at the site. Deployment is planned for 2022.