Subsea survey specialist Sulmara continues to push the boundaries of innovation, delivering site characterisation data for the Synera Renewable Energy (SRE) project in Taiwan.

To overcome challenging environmental site conditions, the Sulmara team employed an industry-first, multi-platform approach running the sensors to meet the specified data coverage and data quality requirements. Sulmara utilised a dedicated survey vessel, a large USV and a smaller nearshore USV to deliver continuity in quality data, in what is the first approach of this type in Taiwan.

James Hope, Sulmara Regional Director – Eastern Hemisphere, said: “I am proud of our team and of our collaborative work with SRE and the National Taiwan University to make the Formosa-4 Offshore Wind Farm site investigation campaign possible.

“When we began assessing the needs of this project, it was clear that a conventional approach would not be suitable due to the challenges in maintaining data coverage and quality across the entire site, which would have brought risks for our client.

“Our ethos is always to think differently and develop an approach which will deliver the best data for our clients’ project needs. We developed a multi-platform approach for the project, to deliver continuity and consistency in data acquisition from offshore to landfall.

“With dedication and agility, combined with a wealth of field experience, our team are able to anticipate and respond to any challenges which inevitably arise from such a dynamic environment. The supportive and collaborative approach from the SRE team was key to the success of the campaign.

“It was so satisfying and rewarding for our team to deliver such an innovative and bespoke multi-platform solution and to demonstrate the value of our local knowledge and expertise in delivering for our client.”

The Formosa-4 Offshore Windfarm, jointly developed by Synera Renewable Energy and its local partners, is a large-scale renewable energy project located approximately 19 kilometres off the coast of Tongxiao Township, Miaoli County in north-western Taiwan.

Formed in 2019 and employing more than 200 people worldwide, Sulmara has grown rapidly to become an international subsea services provider with offices across the Americas, Europe and Asia.

The Glasgow-headquartered organisation recently completed offshore geophysical survey work to benefit the Bayou Bend CCS project, which is developing a carbon capture and storage facility in Southeast Texas, USA.