Picture caption: Managing Director for Highways at Keltbray – Vip Gandhi, Dogger Bank C Project Manager – James O’Hara, Dogger Bank Wind Farm Commercial Director – Simon Bailey, Dogger Bank Wind Farm Senior Project Manager – Alan Borland and Hitachi Project Director – Goran Isacsson.

  • Convertor station works begin for third phase of world’s largest offshore wind farm
  • Work carried out by Hitachi Energy and supported by Keltbray
  • Keltbray awarded civil engineering contracts for all 3 phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm
  • Official ground-breaking event held at Hitachi site in Redcar
  • Up to 170 UK-based roles supporting construction of the wind farm’s three convertor stations at peak of work

Work has started on the convertor station for the third phase of the world’s largest offshore wind farm

Tier one contractor Hitachi Energy and civil engineering specialist Keltbray will construct the convertor station on the Sembcorp complex near Lazenby in Teesside.

Dogger Bank Wind Farm Senior Project Manager Alan Borland, said: “Starting work on the third convertor station for the world’s largest offshore wind farm is another exciting milestone for the whole team.

“It’s great to see our tier one supplier awarding another civil contract to Keltbray, a company which has played a key role in the development of the first two phases of the project.

“Dogger Bank Wind Farm will provide an affordable and secure source of renewable energy for 6 million UK homes from 2026.”

Vip Gandhi, Managing Director for Highways at Keltbray, said: “The ground-breaking ceremony marks an exciting milestone in continuing our involvement with the prestigious Dogger Bank Wind Farm. Phase C gives us the opportunity to continue providing opportunities to local people and supply chain, collectively working towards a renewable future.”

Dogger Bank Wind Farm is being built in the North Sea more than 130km from the Yorkshire coast in three phases known as Dogger Bank A, B and C. Dogger Bank A and B phases will connect to the national grid near Beverley in East Riding of Yorkshire, while Dogger Bank C will connect to the grid near Redcar, in Teesside.

The world-class renewable energy project, which will be capable of powering 6 million UK homes annually on completion, is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Eni Plenitude (20%).

It 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 minimising potential losses.

Hitachi Energy is supplying the HVDC systems to connect the wind farm to the national grid at Creyke Beck in East Riding and Lackenby near Redcar. Each phase of the project will have both an offshore and onshore convertor station to facilitate efficient transmission of renewable energy via HVDC subsea and onshore underground HVDC and HVAC cables. The two convertor stations in East Riding of Yorkshire are currently under construction at the A1079 site between Beverley and Cottingham.

In Summer 2021 Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen and Redcar MP Jacob Young signalled the start of site preparation work for the Dogger Bank C convertor station by specialists Jones Bros Civil –Engineering UK. Last week representatives from Dogger Bank, Hitachi Energy and Keltbray Group gathered to mark the start of work on the third onshore convertor station on the pre-prepared site, which is due to be completed by Q1 2025.

Keltbray is one of several UK-based firms to secure contracts on the world’s largest offshore wind farm, with more than 1,500 UK roles already created or supported in relation to the construction and operation of Dogger Bank Wind Farm. Durham-based and family-owned steel construction firm Finleys is one of the businesses that has helped with the construction of the first two convertor stations near Beverley in East Riding of Yorkshire. Up to 170 UK based roles will be supported on the two convertor station construction sites during peak times for the project.

Goran Isacsson, Project Director for Hitachi Energy, said:  “The start of construction work at the Dogger Bank C converter station here in Redcar is a great moment for the Hitachi Energy team. We are proud to be delivering three HVDC® Light converter stations for the world’s largest offshore wind farm, Dogger Banker Wind Farm. HVDC technology significantly contributes towards a carbon-neutral energy future by enabling the integration of large-scale and remote renewable energy generation.”

 

 ENDS 

 

For further information:

Media contact – Dogger Bank Wind Farm:

Rachel Lawrence, SSE Renewables

rachel.lawrence@sse.com

+44 (0) 7385 368783

Editor’s Notes:

About Dogger Bank Wind Farm:

  • The 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm when completed in 2026.
  • It is being built in three 1.2GW phases: Dogger Bank A, B and C.
  • The project is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Eni Plenitude (20%).
  • SSE Renewables is lead operator for the development and construction of Dogger Bank Wind Farm. Equinor will be lead operator of the wind farm on completion for its expected operational life of around 35 years.
  • Financial Close on Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B was reached in November 2020, with Financial Close for Dogger Bank C reached in December 2021. Taken in aggregate, reaching Financial Close on all three phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm is the largest offshore wind project financing to date globally.
  • Consent for Dogger Bank Wind Farm was granted in 2015.
  • Each of the three phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm secured 15-year CfD contracts for 1.2GW of low carbon power for of low carbon power production in the UK’s third CfD Allocation Round, announced September 2019.
  • In May 2021, Dogger Bank Wind Farm took another major step forward after passing a required delivery milestone under the UK’s Contracts for Difference scheme for low carbon power.
  • Dogger Bank Wind Farm is located in the North Sea, with each phase more than 130km from the Yorkshire Coast.
  • Onshore construction began in 2020 and is currently underway for Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B, while offshore construction on Dogger Bank A began in Spring 2022. First power is expected in Summer 2023 and Summer 2024 for Dogger Bank A and B, respectively, with commercial operations to follow around 6 months later.
  • Onshore cable installation civils works for Dogger Bank C started in Q1 2022, with construction of the onshore convertor station to commence later this year. Offshore export cable installation will commence in Q1 2024 with offshore platform installation to commence in Q2 2024.
  • Foundation installation on Dogger Bank C will commence in Q3 2024 while turbine installation will commence in Q2 2025. First power is anticipated in Q3 2025 and full power in Q1 2026.
  • Dogger Bank Wind Farm is fully committed to supporting the UK offshore wind supply chain. To date we estimate more than 1,500 UK roles have been created or supported in relation to the construction and operation of the wind farm.
  • 470 jobs are expected to be recruited by GE Renewable Energy across the north-east of England in support of the delivery and operation of all three phases of the project. These will be made up of around 300 skilled roles for turbine installation and commissioning activities and 170 servicing roles at Port of Tyne under GE’s five-year Service and Warranty Agreements for Dogger Bank phases A, B and C once operational.
  • At least a further 30 roles will be hired by Equinor as operator of the wind farm, based at the Port of Tyne or offshore.
  • 170 new full-time UK-based jobs will be created by North Star Renewables in crewing and shore-based roles for the operation of the service fleet for Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
  • Up to 100 peak construction jobs will be created by Jones Bros. Civil Engineering, one of the UK’s leading civil engineering contractors, on the installation of onshore cable infrastructure for Dogger Bank A and B.
  • Dogger Bank A and B has confirmed GE’s Haliade-X 13MW as the turbine powering the first two phases of the project. As the first order for the Haliade-X 13MW, installation at Dogger Bank A will be the first time the turbine is installed in the world.
  • Installation of GE’s upscaled Haliade-X 14MW turbine at Dogger Bank C will be the first time the 14MW turbine is installed in the world.
  • One rotation of the Haliade-X turbine blades can power one UK home for more than two days.
  • The wind turbines will be installed on monopile foundations.
  • Dogger Bank will be the first High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) connected wind farm in the UK due to its distance from shore, introducing new transmission systems to the UK and paving the way for other large offshore wind farms.
  • Around 10,000 people, including world leaders, have signed their name on a Dogger Bank turbine as a symbol of their support for climate action. The names will appear on one of the first turbines to be installed on the wind farm from 2023.
  • For more information about Dogger Bank Wind Farm visit doggerbank.com

About SSE Renewables

SSE Renewables is a leading developer, owner, and operator of renewable energy across the UK and Ireland, with a portfolio of around 4GW of onshore wind, offshore wind, and hydro. Part of the FTSE-listed SSE plc, its strategy is to drive the transition to a net zero future through the world class development, construction, and operation of renewable energy assets.

SSE Renewables owns nearly 2GW of operational onshore wind capacity t. Its 1,459MW hydro portfolio includes 300MW of pumped storage and 750MW of flexible hydro. Its operational offshore wind portfolio consists of 487MW across two offshore joint venture sites, Beatrice and Greater Gabbard, both of which it operates on behalf of its asset partners.

SSE Renewables is aiming to treble its renewable energy output by 2030. In addition to Dogger Bank Wind Farm, SSE Renewables is currently leading the construction of the Seagreen 1 offshore wind farm (1,075MW, SSE Renewables share: 49%) and is developing the Berwick Bank and Marr Bank offshore wind farms (up to 4,150MW) in Scotland, North Falls (up to 504MW, SSE Renewables share: 50%) in England, and Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 (520MW) in Ireland. Onshore it is constructing the Viking wind farm (443MW) in Shetland and Gordonbush Extension (38MW) and has a further 1GW of onshore wind in development.

SSE Renewables is a Principal Partner to the UK Government for COP26 UN climate summit taking place in Glasgow in November 2021.

About Equinor

Equinor is a leading broad energy partner to the UK, supplying natural gas from Norway, developing domestic energy resources, and generating low-carbon electricity. Equinor has been operating in the UK for nearly 40 years and aims to reach net zero emissions globally by 2050. Headquartered in Norway, the company employs 22,000 people globally, and over 650 in the UK. Equinor supports the UK economy by investing billions in crucial energy infrastructure, working with over 700 suppliers across the country.

In 2021 Equinor supplied nearly 30% of the UK’s demand for natural gas and around one fifth of its demand for oil, both produced with one of the lowest carbon footprints in the industry. It operates the Mariner oil field and is maturing the Rosebank project with plans to make it one of the most energy efficient developments in the UKCS in line with the UK Government’s North Sea Transition Deal supply decarbonisation goals.

Equinor currently powers around 750,000 UK homes through its three operational wind farms; Sheringham Shoal, Dudgeon, and the world’s first floating wind farm, Hywind Scotland. In partnership with SSE Renewables and Eni Plenitude, Equinor is building the largest offshore wind farm in the world, Dogger Bank, off the Northeast coast of England, and is maturing its plans to extend both the Dudgeon and Sheringham Shoal wind farms.

It is also a leader in both carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen, developing low-carbon power with carbon capture, hydrogen, and CO2 transport and storage projects in the UK.

About Eni Plenitude

Plenitude is a unique Energy Company that integrates production from renewables, the sale of gas and electricity, energy services and a large network of electric vehicle charging points. It currently provides electricity and gas to around 10 million households and businesses across Europe. All retail power customers will be provided with carbon neutral electricity from this year onwards.

To meet the growing demand for green energy, Plenitude is developing solar and wind projects, with 6GW capacity expected to be in place by 2025 and more than 15GW by 2030, from 1.5GW today. Through its subsidiary Be Charge, Plenitude owns a network of over 9,000 EV charging points that will be expanded to both Italy and Europe, with over 30,000 charging points planned by 2025 and over 35,000 by 2030. Plenitude is also Italy’s leading distributor of electricity generated by small-scale photovoltaic plants thanks to Evolvere, a company which was acquired in 2020.

As a Società Benefit, Plenitude’s aim of having a positive impact on people, communities and the environment is incorporated into its Articles of Association, and forms part of Eni’s broader commitment to create value through the energy transition. Plenitude aims to achieve net zero Scope 3 emissions by 2040 and thanks to an integrated and diversified model it will provide 100% decarbonised energy to all its customers.

Plenitude is present in Italy, France, Greece, Slovenia, Spain, Portugal, the UK, Norway, the US, Kazakhstan, and Australia.

About Keltbray

Keltbray is a leading multi-disciplinary engineering and construction services business, offering a uniquely integrated delivery capability spanning key phases of the client value chain.

Keltbray provides certainty of outcome for prestigious public and private sector clients often in highly regulated markets like rail and energy, contributing to the development and maintenance of Britain’s rapidly changing economic and social infrastructure.

Our professionally accredited teams of engineering and construction professionals take pride in delivering safely and sustainably to enhance, upgrade and decarbonise our clients’ capital assets.