World’s largest offshore wind farm starts producing power

The world’s largest offshore wind farm under construction, Dogger Bank, has started producing electricity for the first time.

The 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm is being constructed 130km off the coast of Yorkshire and in three 1.2GW phases, known as Dogger Bank A, B and C. 

Power from the project’s first offshore wind turbine at Dogger Bank A 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 13MW turbines, one of the largest and most powerful globally, at the Dogger Bank site. 

This is the first time Haliade-X units have been energised offshore anywhere in the world.

Each rotation of the 107m long blades on Dogger Bank’s first operational turbine can produce enough clean energy to power an average British home for two days.

When fully complete, Dogger Bank’s 3.6GW capacity will comprise 277 giant offshore turbines capable of producing enough clean energy to power the equivalent of six million homes annually and deliver yearly CO2 savings equivalent to removing 1.5 million average internal combustion engine petrol cars from the road.

Dogger Bank is being developed and built by SSE Renewables in a joint venture with Norway’s Equinor and Vårgrønn (a joint venture of Eni Plenitude and HitecVision). 

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. Vårgrønn brings specialist offshore wind expertise to the project.

Alistair Phillips-Davies, chief executive of SSE, said: “There’s been lots of talk about the need to build homegrown energy supplies, but we are taking action on a massive scale. 

“Dogger Bank will provide a significant boost to UK energy security, affordability and leadership in tackling climate change. This is exactly how we should be responding to the energy crisis.

“But it is also a landmark moment for the global offshore wind industry, with Dogger Bank demonstrating just what can be achieved when policymakers, investors, industry, and communities work together to achieve something truly remarkable.

“The innovations this pioneering project has developed will also mean future developments can be built faster and more efficiently, accelerating the clean energy transition. 

“Now, of course, the challenge is to accelerate the next wave of these projects and we look forward to working with governments to bring these forward as soon as possible.”