Larger GE Turbines for Third Phase of UK’s Dogger Bank Wind Farm
The third and final phase of the world’s largest offshore wind farm, the Dogger Bank project in the North Sea, took a major step forward with the announcement of the contract for its wind turbines. The third phase is the first commercial commitment for GE Renewable Energy’s giant 14 MW turbines and will mark the first installation of the larger turbines.
The Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be located over more than 100 miles off the northeast coast of England and due to its size is being developed in three phases. The project is more than a decade in planning with approvals having been granted in 2015 with onshore construction now underway. Offshore construction on Dogger Bank A is scheduled to begin in mid-2022 with its first power expected in the summer of 2023 and commercial operations by the end of 2023. Q2 2022. The second phase is expected to follow a year later while installation of the third phase will begin in 2025. Each phase will be able to produce 6TWh of renewable electricity, totaling 18TWh annually, when complete in 2026, equivalent to around five percent of the UK’s electricity demand.
Today’s announcement confirmed the order of 87 Haliade-X 14 MW turbines from GE for Dogger Bank C. This represents an upscaling of the project as the first two phases will be the first to install GE’s Haliade-X 13 MW turbines. The first two phases will employ a total of 190 turbines. According to the Dogger Bank Wind Farm company, one spin of the Haliade-X can generate enough electricity to power a UK household for more than two days. The project will employ a total of 277 GE wind turbines.
“This is an exciting milestone and marks our continued progress towards financial close for the third phase of the wind farm, expected later this year,” said Steve Wilson, SSE Renewables Project Director for Dogger Bank Wind Farm. “We’re particularly proud that through our confirmation with GE of turbine contracts for the delivery of all three phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, the project will be responsible for the creation of hundreds more green UK jobs, both during construction and through to servicing. We now look forward to continuing our close collaboration with GE on this phase of the project and to demonstrate how the impressive Haliade-X technology can be installed safely, efficiently, and on a significant scale for the first time, during delivery of our world-class offshore wind project.”
Offshore wind power is a cornerstone of the UK government’s sustainable energy transition plan. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been promoting the development of offshore wind power as an element of his wider Green Industrial Revolution to restore and modernize British industry.
The government is promoting that the green revolution will also be a major source of employment. As part of today’s announcement, GE Renewable Energy increased its estimate for the number of UK jobs that it expects will be created in the delivery and operation of all three phases. They are projecting a total of 470, which is almost double the previous projection of 240 jobs announced in September 2020. This is expected to consist of 300 construction-related jobs linked to the installation and commissioning activities of the three phases and an additional 170 jobs for the servicing of the wind farm under a five-year contract that was also announced today.
Dogger Bank C is a joint venture between SSE Renewables and Equinor while Eni recently acquired a minority stake in Dogger Bank A and B from the joint venture partners.