The Dogger Bank Wind Farm has begun construction on what is expected to be the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
The beginning of offshore wind construction
The installation of the first length of HVDC export cable, located off the Yorkshire coast, has marked the beginning of offshore wind farm construction. Tier one supplier NKT is leading the work to install the Dogger Bank A nearshore cable, which will connect the first phase of the wind farm more than 130km off the coast to a landfall point at Ulrome, in the 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 throughout 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.
What does this mean for renewable energy?
The 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 their experience in transmitting renewable energy safely and efficiently across long distances while minimising potential energy losses.
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 are now well on our way to achieving first power from this unrivalled global renewable energy asset. I would like to extend my thanks to all those who have worked incredibly hard to reach this major offshore milestone.”
Photo Credit: Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
How will this construction be completed?
Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be built in three phases: A, B, and C. The project is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%), and Eni Plenitude (20%). NKT will supply and install the onshore and offshore HVDC cables for all three project phases. The company will use its cable-laying vessel NKT Victoria to establish the 320kV DC subsea cable system in challenging North Sea conditions.
Head of Project Execution in NKT, Darren Fennell, noted: “As a long term high-voltage DC technology partner to Equinor, Eni Plenitude and SSE, NKT is excited to have reached the installation phase of the Dogger Bank A nearshore cables. The overall project is key for the continued European focus on increasing the use of renewable energy sources, and we look forward to successfully completing the cable installations.”
LMR Drilling Managing Director, Jez Seamans, concluded: “It has been a fantastic project to be involved in, with the HDD landfalls forming a small but crucial part of the overall project linking the offshore power generating system with the onshore grid. It is great to see the first of the cables being installed into these landfall ducts, another step in the ongoing decarbonisation of UK power.”
