Geology and knowledge of the subsurface
The partner interview
Marion Decamps Head of the capitalisation and transversal activities department (CAT) of the Engineering Division for the Offshore Grid and Interconnections (DIIREM) for the French Electricity Nework (RTE)
What scientific problems are you encountering on the continental shelf?
Marion Decamps — The continental shelf, which extends along the coastline to a depth of around 200 metres, has been the focus of offshore renewable energy development for more than ten years. It is against this backdrop that RTE, the national electricity transmission system operator and project developer for the connection of all French offshore wind farms, operates. DIIREM, the Offshore Grid and Interconnection Engineering Division, manages development projects, including the various studies required to minimise risks on the sites where our facilities are to be installed, right through to commissioning. This risk mitigation is multifaceted and extremely complex. In all our connection studies, we need to know the geology of the continental shelf and its hazards.
What expertise are you lookingfor at BRGM?
M.D. — Risk mitigation and the choice of infrastructure for the connection of offshore wind farms require in-depth mapping of the layers of the continental shelf to better understand the ground-related risk. BRGM's knowledge, which we already use for our land-based projects, is now just as indispensable to us in the maritime sector.
What is the practical benefit for your projects?
M.D. — The main benefit is in sharing valid and confirmed risk analysis data with a recognised scientific body such as BRGM. For this purpose we organise regular meetings with their teams. But we are also discussing new avenues for collaboration, for example in relation to the study of coastline erosion phenomena, or our future offshore electricity substations, which could enable the embedded installation of seismic sensors in areas of interest to BRGM in order to refine its knowledge of the subject. The collected data would be transmitted as open data via the fibre optic network in our cables and would benefit everyone. A public library of pooled, accurate and up-to-date data on subsurface knowledge such as that held by BRGM is an exceptional asset for RTE and will remain so for a long time to come.
