DEME Offshore has awarded Tekmar Energy a contract to supply Cable Protection Systems (CPS) for the Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the UK. in what is Tekmar Energy’s largest CPS supply contract to date.
Dogger Bank is a 3.6GW offshore wind farm located 130km off the North East coast of England. The project is a joint venture between SSE Renewables, Equinor, and Eni and is set to become the world’s largest offshore wind farm, capable of generating enough renewable energy to power six million UK homes once fully operational.
Tekmar Energy has signed a contract with DEME Offshore to design, manufacture, and supply Generation 10 TekTube CPS to protect subsea inter-array cables on the first two phases of the wind farm, Dogger Bank A and B, with a customer option for the third phase, Dogger Bank C. Each phase will have a 1.2GW capacity.
DEME Offshore is the main contractor for the delivery and the installation of inter-array cables for the wind farm. The installation will be carried out by the DP3 cable installation vessel ‘Living Stone’.
Tekmar said that all CPS systems will be built at Tekmar’s facility in the North East of England which is located less than 50km from Dogger Bank’s export cable landfall site in Teesside for the third phase of the project. The first systems are expected to be delivered from August 2022 with production continuing into 2024.
Gary Howland, Tekmar Group Sales Director, said: "As a company headquartered in the North East of England, we are extremely proud to play a part in this hugely significant project for the region and look forward to working with DEME Offshore to successfully deliver the project.”
Dogger Bank Wind Farm Project Director Steve Wilson, said: "We are delighted to welcome this leading north-east manufacturer to the supply chain for the world’s largest offshore wind farm. To secure this contract on our ground-breaking development, Tekmar has demonstrated world-class capability and expertise. With more than 3,000 UK jobs now associated with the construction and operation of the wind farm, we can say with certainty that with the right support and the right opportunities, our offshore wind supply chain here in the UK is becoming increasingly globally competitive."
As for the Dogger Bank project overall, 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.
For Dogger Bank C, sanctioned earlier this month, onshore cable installation will start in Q1 2022, with the construction of the onshore converter station to start in Q2 2022. Offshore export cable installation will start in Q1 2024 with offshore platform installation to start in Q2, 2024. Foundation installation will commence in Q3, 2024 while turbine installation will start in Q2, 2025. First power is anticipated in Q3, 2025 and full power in Q1, 2026.