Cerulean Winds has moved toward submitting the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for its 1GW Aspen floating offshore wind farm.
This follows the completion of aerial surveys of the planned site in the Central North Sea.
The developer completed 72 digital aerial surveys (DAS) for both Aspen and its sister projects, Beech and Cedar.
This saw ecological data collected from across around 1,077 square miles (2,784 sq km) of ocean.
The work was performed by HiDef Surveying using fixed-wing aircraft, taking place between April 2023 and March 2025.
HiDef Surveying CEO Nicholas Tompkins said: “Completing 72 digital aerial surveys across these sites marks a significant milestone in offshore wind development.
“This large-scale data collection effort supports comprehensive environmental assessments, aiding the consenting process and ensuring sustainable project planning.
“By using ultra-high-resolution digital surveying technology, we have achieved precise species identification while minimising environmental impact – reinforcing our commitment to innovation in offshore monitoring.”
Environmental impact assessment
Having completed the survey stage, Cerulean Winds is now set to submit its EIA for the Aspen project.
In addition, the data gathered during the surveys will be used in the assessments for Beech and Cedar’s consenting phase.
The findings will also help optimise the project’s designs, such as determining turbine placement and infrastructure planning.
Cerulean Winds founding director Dan Jackson: “The completion of this best-in-class work, delivered at scale, is another milestone in the development of the UK’s floating offshore wind industry. The HiDef team have provided the accurate data we need to make our projects as sustainable as possible.
“We’re now looking ahead, alongside our consortium of partners, to developing the project and capturing the benefits of a UK-based FLOW industry.”
© Supplied by Cerulean WindsAspen, Cedar and Beech, which have over 3GW of capacity between them, were awarded to Cerulean Winds as part of the Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing round in March 2023.
These projects aim to provide power to industrial users, helping decarbonise the North Sea, and with additional capacity going to export.
Cerulean Winds began survey activity immediately after the leasing awards were announced, helping keep consenting timelines on track.
The developer previously completed offshore survey work for the cluster of floating projects in January this year, covering seabed mapping to help with cable routing and turbine placement.
Aspen is on track to reach a final investment decision in 2026, with first power between 2028 and 2029, and full operations by 2030.
Once built, the three Cerulean Winds projects could comprise up to 300 turbines.
