SSE Renewables and Equinor, the joint venture partners co-developing the 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the North Sea, have signed 15-year offtake Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for the third phase of Dogger Bank - the world’s largest offshore wind farm
Dogger Bank wind farm will be built over 130km out to sea off the northeast coast of England, where wind speeds are higher and more consistent than near the shore.
Due to its size and scale, Dogger Bank Wind Farm is being built in three consecutive 1.2GW phases; Dogger Bank A, Dogger Bank B, and Dogger Bank C. Each phase is expected to generate around 6TWh of electricity annually, totaling 18TWh annually across all three phases – that’s enough renewable electricity to supply 5% of the UK’s demand and equivalent to powering six million UK homes.
Once the three phases are complete, which is expected by March 2026, Dogger Bank will be the largest offshore wind farm in the world.
Separate PPAs for a total of 1.2GW for Dogger Bank C have been concluded with sponsor offtakers Danske Commodities (40% share) on behalf of Equinor and SSE Energy Supply Limited (20% share) on behalf of SSE Renewables, and also with external offtakers Centrica Energy Marketing and Trading (20% share) and Shell Energy Europe Limited (20% share). The agreements are subject to Financial Close on Dogger Bank C, which is expected by the end of 2021.
The deals to buy the power generated by the third phase of the wind farm follow the conclusion of a competitive bidding process, SSE said.
Danske Commodities will have trading and balancing responsibility for 480MW while Centrica Energy Marketing and Trading, Shell Energy Europe, and SSE Energy Supply will have responsibility for 240MW each of installed generation capacity across Dogger Bank C.
Steve Wilson, Dogger Bank Wind Farm’s Project Director at SSE Renewables, said:"Today we’re celebrating yet another important milestone in the delivery of the world’s largest offshore wind farm. Concluding offtake Power Purchase Agreements with some of the leading energy trading companies for Dogger Bank C means we are well on track to reach financial close for the third phase of Dogger Bank Wind Farm by the end of the year."
Dogger Bank Wind Farm secured 3.6GW of offshore wind contracts in the UK Government’s 2019 Contracts for Difference (CfD) auctions. The CfDs awarded provide overall price certainty to each phase of Dogger Bank Wind Farm for a period of 15 years.
The wind farm will be the first project to use GE Renewable Energy’s Haliade-X 14 MW, the first offshore wind turbine in the world to operate at 14 MW, and due to its distance from shore, the first UK High Voltage Direct Current connected wind farm.
Onshore construction began in 2020 and is currently underway for Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B, with offshore construction on Dogger Bank A due to begin in Q2 2022. First power is expected in Summer 2023 and Summer 2024 for Dogger Bank A and B, respectively, with commercial operations to follow around 6 months later. Turbine installation for Dogger Bank C will begin in 2025.
Dogger Bank A and B is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Eni (20%). In November 2021 SSE Renewables and Equinor, 50:50 joint venture partners in Dogger Bank C, announced Eni will take a 20% stake in the final phase, with SSE Renewables and Equinor maintaining 40% stakes each, in a deal that is expected to complete in Q1 2022 (subject to Dogger Bank C Financial Close and regulatory approvals.)
SSE Renewables is leading on the development and construction of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, and Equinor will operate the wind farm on completion for its expected operational life of around 35 years.