Dogger Bank, set to be the world’s largest offshore wind farm, is now connected to Britain’s national grid and has started exporting electricity for the first time to British homes and businesses. This is a major milestone in the development of the industry and the transition to a cleaner, more secure energy system.
The 3.6 GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm is being constructed in UK waters 70 nautical miles (130km) off the coast of Yorkshire and in the UK’s North Sea in three 1.2 GW phases known as Dogger Bank A, B and C. The first turbine at Dogger Bank A has started turning and producing electricity. Power from the offshore wind farm is now being transmitted to the UK’s national grid via Dogger Bank’s high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system, marking the first-time use of HVDC technology on a UK wind farm.
First power followed the installation of the first of GE Vernova’s Haliade-X 13 MW turbines, one of the largest and most powerful globally, at the Dogger Bank site. This is the first time Haliade-X units have been energized offshore anywhere in the world. Each rotation of the 107m long blades can produce enough energy to power an average British home for two days.
Equinor, as lead operator during the operational phase of the wind farm, 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. The base will host around 400 jobs, including staff from the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, Equinor, GE Vernova and North Star.
Dogger Bank sits approximately 130km (80 miles) off the coast of Yorkshire and will occupy an area almost as large as Greater London and nearly twice the size of New York City. When fully complete, its 3.6 GW capacity will comprise 277 offshore turbines capable of producing enough energy to power the equivalent of six million British homes annually.
The first power milestone marks the first of what will eventually be 277, 260-meter-tall turbines providing power from the project. Each of these 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.
World-firsts in supply chain delivery
The Dogger Bank project has delivered several world-firsts in supply chain delivery that will significantly accelerate the speed at which future offshore projects can be developed. GE Vernova’s new 13MW Haliade-X turbine technology was completed 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.
Dogger Bank also 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 with the highest safety and quality standards.
