“Surveying is an important step on the path toward developing Canopy Offshore Wind and helping provide clean energy that meets California’s ambitious climate goals,” said Sam Eaton, CEO of RWE Offshore Wind Holdings. “RWE is committed to responsible, inclusive development by engaging Humboldt residents, Tribal Nations, and working closely with the fishing community as we begin offshore activities on the project.”
Deploying State-of-the-Art Technology
RWE has selected Argeo, a subsea service provider that has supported development of clean energy projects around the world, to perform the site investigation work for Canopy.
“Argeo is pleased to partner with RWE on their first commercial scale floating offshore wind project. We will conduct subsea surveying utilizing proven, state-of-the-art technology,” said Dave Gentle, Vice President for North and South America at Argeo. “With extensive experience in ocean surveying, Argeo is well-equipped to deliver comprehensive and detailed site information. We look forward to working with RWE on this significant initiative.”
Due to the water depths in the lease area off the Pacific Coast of the US, Argeo will utilize an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to conduct the surveys. The use of an AUV as the survey platform during this initial site characterization effort will enable high-quality data collection close to the seafloor, including photographs of biological communities.
Commercial AUVs have been used since the 2000s and are a proven method for geophysical and biological data collection with minimal environmental and ocean user impacts. They are battery-powered and can stay below the sea surface for extended periods of time, which reduces overall survey time and emissions. The use of AUVs as survey platforms significantly reduces the potential for entanglement of fishing gear as they are not towed equipment.
RWE is committed to developing offshore wind projects safely and sustainably, prioritizing healthy biodiversity and marine life. The sensors carried by the AUV operate at safe sound levels and meet California low energy equipment requirements for geophysical surveys that are in place to minimize impacts to marine mammals and other wildlife.
Ensuring Safe Operations for Marine Wildlife
In compliance with US permitting requirements and to ensure the project is developed in a responsible and safe manner, Canopy survey work will utilize certified, independent, Protected Species Observers (PSOs) on survey vessels on duty 24 hours a day to detect and avoid marine mammals during survey activities and to collect visual observation data on marine wildlife.
RWE has selected Geo SubSea and Coastal 35 Consulting to provide PSOs on survey vessels and Smultea Sciences to deliver PSO training to Tribal citizens and Humboldt County community members to increase the involvement and workforce opportunities for individuals who possess local and Indigenous knowledge of the area during the site investigation campaign.
Canopy plans to conduct initial site investigation surveys during 2024 and 2025, with the first activities beginning this month. By comprehensively ‘mapping’ the seafloor, the project will begin to assess the best locations for installing wind turbines, anchors and electric cables and better understand biodiversity, habitats, and other environmental factors to ensure responsible planning and design that minimizes the impact on ocean ecosystems.
In April, Smultea Sciences, a Women-Owned Small Business headquartered on the US West Coast, successfully trained 19 members of the local Humboldt and Tribal communities as Protected Species Observers. Several graduates of this program subsequently participated in Global Wind Organization safety training. This training qualifies PSOs to work on Canopy or on other marine projects nationwide.
