World’s largest offshore wind farm Dogger Bank produces power for the first time
Dogger Bank 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, according to Equinor's release.
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.
