UK-based renewables giant SSE, a Principal Partner of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26, has invited those who want to see an ambitious climate action agreed at COP26 to show their support by putting their name on the world’s largest offshore wind farm Dogger Bank – with UK Prime Minister and COP26 President Alok Sharma among the first to sign up.
SSE, in partnership with Equinor and Eni, is building the giant Dogger Bank offshore wind farm located 130km off the Yorkshire Coast.
The 3.6 GW offshore wind project will consist of three phases – each at 1.2GW, and will cover an area of 1675 km2, larger than Greater London, and will be the world's largest offshore wind farm, once operational.
"The switch to clean energy is vital if the world is to heed the IPCC’s recent ‘code red for humanity’, and, as the biggest single source of offshore power in the world, Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Farm is a symbol of the change needed globally," SSE said Wednesday.
"SSE, with its joint venture partners Equinor and Eni, is offering world leaders and the general public alike a unique opportunity to be part of history with their names on Dogger Bank’s giant turbines as a poignant symbol of the need for more urgent action and as a legacy of COP26," the company said.
"The giant wind farm demonstrates how clear Government policy and private sector investment can drive the transition from carbon-intensive to clean power. Just one turn of a Dogger Bank turbine, three times bigger than the London Eye, will be enough to power a British home for two days.
"With just 25 days to COP26, the UK public are being encouraged to throw their weight behind the need for ambitious global climate action to limit warming to 1.5 degrees.
"The Prime Minister and COP26 President have today signed up to having their names added to the wind farm and will be encouraging world leaders to join them at COP26," the UK-based utility said.
COP26 President-Designate Alok Sharma said: "The impacts of climate change can be seen around the world and COP26 is the last best hope for the world to come together and take action to protect the future of our planet.
“Dogger Bank has been developed by a UK business with international partners, manufactured on Teesside and employing thousands of UK workers, with its 3.6GW of wind energy set to power six million homes. Adding your name to this symbolic project ahead of COP26 is a great way to show support and leave a legacy.”
Alistair Phillips-Davies, SSE Chief Executive, said: “Tackling the climate emergency requires everyone to play their part – from world leaders to governments to big businesses to communities to individuals. What we are building at Dogger Bank is representative of what can be done when government, business and the public pull together to power change.
“We want to send a clear signal ahead of COP26 that the writing is on the wall for climate change – literally in this sense – and by lending their name to Dogger Bank, anyone who cares about climate action can make their voice heard and create a lasting legacy.
“When we look back in decades to come, we want to say this was the moment the wind changed, with the demand from the public for an ambitious COP26 agreement helping avert the worst of global warming.”
SSE said that climate leaders from across the globe will be invited to add their name and lend their support for greater climate action by signing the turbine at COP26 itself in Glasgow.
The wind farm is currently under construction off the northeast of England with the first power due in summer 2023.
SSE Renewables is leading the development and construction phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm and Equinor will lead on operations for its lifetime of up to 35 years.
GE has a contract to manufacture the giant Haliade-X blades for the project on Teesside and is building a new factory to carry out the project.
The turbines
For the first two phases of the Dogger Bank project, GE will deliver 190 Haliade-X 13MW offshore wind turbines, split evenly at 95 turbines for each of the two phases. These will be an enhanced version of GE’s 12MW prototype unit which has been generating power in Rotterdam since November 2019.
The installation of these turbines will be the first time ever a 13MW Haliade-X is installed in the world
"One spin of the Haliade-X 13MW can generate enough electricity to power a UK household for more than two days," Equinor said in September 2020.
For Dogger Bank Phase C, GE has been selected as a preferred supplier, too. This phase, while expected to be 1.2 GW, the same as the first two, will have fewer wind turbines installed. Namely, GE will deliver an “uprated” version of the Haliade-X turbine type, with a 14MW capacity.
Interestingly, just a few days ago, GE announced that its Haliade-X prototype in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, had started operating at 14 MW, with GE becoming the first industry player to operate a turbine at this power output.
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