First Electricity from Dudgeon Offshore Windfarm

First electricity has been generated from Statoil’s Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm. When fully operational later in 2017 the offshore wind farm will provide electricity to over 400,000 homes. Currently it is delivering enough electricity to the U.K. national grid for around 6,000 homes.

The Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm site is located 32 kilometers offshore Norfolk, U.K. It consists of 67 six-megawatt wind turbine generators with a total installed capacity of 402MW producing 1.73 TWh/year. The first turbine was installed in early January after all 67 foundations were installed on the Dudgeon Bank last year, along with the cables and the offshore substation that collects the power generated by the wind turbines.

This work involved as much as 2,000 vessel days and almost the same number is anticipated this year for the installation of turbines. The installation of the remaining 66 turbines is expected to be completed by the end of 2017 when the wind farm will be fully operational.  

The project is part of Statoil’s strategy is to gradually complement the oil and gas portfolio with profitable renewable energy and other low-carbon solutions.

“Building a profitable renewable portfolio on the foundation of 40 years of oil and gas experience is a competitive advantage,” says Stephen Bull, Statoil’s senior vice president for offshore wind. “We can leverage on our marine operations competence, our experience with complex projects and our supply chain. A lot of work remains, but seeing the first Dudgeon turbine producing electricity is very satisfying.” 

Statoil is a major investor in the U.K. energy sector, and pursues a broad range of activities relating to energy production and sales in Britain, including the Mariner oil development offshore Aberdeen, the largest investment on the U.K. continental shelf in a decade. Statoil is a leading supplier of natural gas to U.K. providing more than 20 percent of the total gas demand.

The company is developing an offshore wind portfolio with the capacity of providing over one million homes in Europe with renewable energy.

Statoil currently holds a 40 percent share in the Sheringham Shoal wind farm located offshore Norfolk, U.K., which has been in production since 2012. The Hywind Scotland pilot park offshore Peterhead, Scotland, the world’s first floating wind farm, will come in production in late 2017.

In 2016 Statoil acquired 50 percent of the Arkona offshore wind farm in Germany, which will come in production in 2019. Statoil was also declared the provisional winner of the U.S. government’s wind lease sale offshore New York at the end of 2016.