US engineering services firm Tetra Tech has won a three-year deal from Flotation Energy to assess marine environmental conditions for the Seadragon offshore wind farm in Victoria, Australia.
Tetra Tech will conduct baseline surveys to assess the presence and conditions of marine mammals, birds, fish, and benthic and coastal processes in the proposed wind farm location.
The company will collect data using visual and digital aerial surveys, passive acoustic monitoring to detect the presence of marine mammals, biologging, and satellite tagging. The US company added that it would also carry out metocean measurements. The deal with Flotation Energy is worth AUD 22m ($14.15m).
Tetra Tech’s RPS operations in Australia will manage the program in collaboration with scientific and academic partners, including JASCO Applied Sciences, Deakin University, and CSIRO – Australia’s national science organization.
The Seadragon offshore wind farm will be in Commonwealth waters off Ninety Mile Beach, adjacent to existing oil and gas infrastructure. The 1.5 GW project, backed by funding from Victoria State, has the potential to create over 1,600 jobs.
The proposed site is near older oil and gas platforms in the Bass Strait which could be repurposed to house offshore infrastructure for the project. First power from the fully constructed Seadragon project is expected in 2030 and will produce enough for around 1m homes per year when complete.
