Phase 3 of the world’s largest offshore wind farm moves forward

British utility SSE and Norwegian energy giant Equinor announced late last week that they have secured financing to proceed with the construction of the $3.98 billion Dogger Bank C offshore wind farm off England’s northeast coast.

World’s largest offshore wind farm

Dogger Bank C offshore wind farm, along with Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B, is due to become the largest offshore wind farm in the world upon completion, with an installed capacity of 3.6 gigawatts (GW). Each phase is 1.2 GW.

Dogger Bank C will generate around 6,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity a year when completed in 2026.

According to SSE and Equinor, Dogger Bank will generate enough clean energy to supply 5% of the UK’s electricity needs, equivalent to 6 million homes.

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GE Renewable Energy will provide 87 units of the enormous Haliade-X 14 MW wind turbines for Dogger Bank C. As Electrek previously reported, “According to GE, one turbine can generate up to 74 GWh of gross annual energy production, saving up to 52,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide – the equivalent of the emissions from 11,000 vehicles in one year.”

Progress on land-based infrastructure

Construction of Dogger Bank A and B is currently under way. As of December 3, three-quarters of the 80 miles of underground ducts and one-third of underground high-voltage cables – land-based infrastructure – have been installed. They will connect A and B to the UK’s National Grid.

James Lockwood, project manager at Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK, the company that is installing the land-based infrastructure, said:

We have made excellent progress while the weather has been with us, and as such have installed a significant amount of cable.

The cable itself runs across two routes: a DC route which goes from the connection point with offshore cables to the converter station, and a shorter AC route, which then runs from the converter station to National Grid infrastructure.

Additionally, we have been able to start some works restoring parts of the site, a process which includes sowing a mix of specially selected cover crops that will help maintain the nutrient levels in the soil in preparation of the final reinstatements work due to carried out next year.

Once better weather returns in the spring, we’ll be back under way with high voltage duct and cable installation, working towards a final site handover in June 2023.

Photo: GE