The first phase of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm has started exporting electricity to British consumers.
The 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm is being constructed in UK waters 70 nautical miles (130 kilometers, 80 miles) off the coast of Yorkshire in the UK’s North Sea in three 1.2GW phases known as Dogger Bank A, B and C.
Dogger Bank will occupy an area almost as large as Greater London and nearly twice the size of New York City. When fully complete, its 3.6GW capacity will comprise 277 offshore turbines capable of producing enough energy to power the equivalent of six million British homes annually.
Each of the turbines will be progressively installed and commissioned between now and planned full commercial operation in 2026. When complete, Dogger Bank will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm, more than two and a half times the size of the largest offshore wind farm currently in operation.
Dogger Bank is being developed and built by a joint venture comprising Equinor, SSE Renewables and Vårgrønn (a joint venture of Eni Plenitude and HitecVision). SSE Renewables is lead operator for the development and construction phase while Equinor will be lead operator of the wind farm for its expected operational life. Vårgrønn brings specialist offshore wind expertise to the project.
Equinor will maintain and operate Dogger Bank over its expected 35-year lifetime. Operations and maintenance will be carried out from the recently opened O&M base at the Port of Tyne.
First power followed the installation of the first of GE Vernova’s Haliade-X 13MW turbines, one of the largest and most powerful globally. This is the first time Haliade-X units have been energized offshore anywhere in the world. Each rotation of the 107-meter (351-foot) blades can produce enough energy to power an average British home for two days.
The electricity is being transmitted to the UK’s national grid via Dogger Bank’s high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system. Dogger Bank marks the first use of HVDC transmission technology to connect a British wind farm to National Grid’s UK energy network. This includes the installation of the world’s first unmanned offshore HVDC substation platform at the site, as well as first use of Hitachi Energy’s HVDC Light® transmission system which was executed in record time of 38 months.
GE Vernova’s new 13MW Haliade-X turbine technology was installed by technicians and engineers working off Jan De Nul Group's newest jack-up installation vessel, Voltaire. With a lifting capacity of 3,200 tonnes, the Voltaire is the largest offshore jack-up installation vessel of her kind in the world and the first ultra-low emissions ship of its kind.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “Offshore wind is critical to generating renewable, efficient energy that can power British homes from British seas. I’m proud that this country is already a world leader in reaching Net Zero by 2050, and by doubling down on the new green industries of the future, we’ll get there in a way that’s both pragmatic and ambitious.”