OCEAN ENERGY RESOURCES
2 | 2021
A joint venture between SSE Renewables, Equinor and Eni, SSE Renewables is leading on the construction and delivery of Dogger Bank Wind Farm. Equinor will operate Dogger Bank Wind Farm on completion for its lifetime of up to 35 years.
First
Dogger Bank will be the first offshore wind project in the UK to use HVDC technology to transmit the electricity produced back to shore, ensuring that the electricity is transmitted efficiently over long distances while minimising losses. Upon first installation in Dogger Bank A during 2023, the project’s HVDC facility will also become the largest-ever at 1.2GW, marking a tremendous scale up from the previous industry benchmark of 0.8GW. “We’ve committed to build this project with record low CfD strike prices and the associated benefits this provides to UK electricity consumers. We will do this by using the latest technologies to ensure
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we build and operate the wind farm efficiently, while achieving the highest standards in safety. In order to build this complex infrastructure project competitively, whilst introducing a new technical solution here in the UK, the Dogger Bank project team needed to drive a huge step change in design,” said Steve Wilson, Project Director of Dogger Bank Wind Farm. Working closely with platform manufacturer Aibel, the Dogger Bank team were challenged to design the first unmanned offshore HVDC substation in the world.
Reduction
Removing the need for personnel to stay on the platform meant it was then possible to eliminate elements such as the living quarters, helideck and sewage systems, resulting in a 70% reduction in weight (per megawatt) of the topside compared to previous platforms installed, and cost savings of hundreds of millions of pounds (GBP).
