Offshore construction work has officially started on what will become the world's largest offshore wind farm - Dogger Bank - in the UK North Sea, with the installation of the first length of HVDC export cable off the Yorkshire coast.
Cable laying specialist NKT is leading the work to install the Dogger Bank A (first of three 1.2 GW phases) nearshore cable, that will connect the first phase of the windfarm more than 130km off the coast to a landfall point at Ulrome, in East Riding of Yorkshire.
Aberdeenshire-based ACE Winches and LMR Drilling UK Ltd of Birkenhead are among the companies supporting NKT with this work.
The campaign will continue during 2022, with work starting on the export cables for Dogger Bank B in East Riding, and Dogger Bank C on Teesside, in the consecutive years.
"Dogger Bank wind farm will be the first HVDC-connected wind farm in the UK, paving the way for other UK wind farms and suppliers to build on our experience transmitting renewable energy safely and efficiently across long distances while minimizing potential losses," SSE, the operator during the construction phase, said.
A joint venture project between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Eni Plenitude (20%), the 3.6GW Dogger Bank wind farm will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm when completed in 2026
Dogger Bank Wind Farm Project Director Steve Wilson, said: "This is an exciting time for everyone involved in this project as we celebrate installing the first nearshore HVDC export cable safely and on time. With the first foundations due to be installed later this year and the first turbines scheduled for installation in 2023, we’re now well on our way to achieving first power from this unrivaled global renewable energy asset.
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is being built in three phases known as A, B, and C. NKT will supply and install the onshore and offshore HVDC cable for all three phases of the project. The company will use its cable-laying vessel NKT Victoria to install the 320kV DC subsea cable system in challenging North Sea conditions.