The world’s largest offshore wind farm took a major step forward over the weekend after producing its first power for British homes and businesses.
The Dogger Bank Wind Farm Project, which is under construction in the North Sea, will have a total capacity of 3.6 gigawatts once fully up and running.
The offshore wind farm is being developed in three phases – Dogger Bank A, B, and C – located between 130km (80 miles) and 190km (118 miles) from the North East coast of England at their nearest points. Each phase will have an installed generation capacity of 1.2GW, for a total of 3.6GW.
The project will use 277 of GE Vernova’s Haliade-X 13MW turbines, which are among the largest and most powerful in the world. Each rotation of the 107-meter-long blades on Dogger Bank’s first operational turbine can produce enough clean energy to power an average British home for two days.
The project is expected to be completed by 2026 and will provide clean energy to six million homes annually, as well as reduce CO2 emissions by the equivalent of removing 1.5 million cars from the road.
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.
The Dogger Bank offshore wind farm is a joint venture partnership between SSE Renewables, Equinor, and Vårgrønn, with SSE Renewables leading the development and construction and Equinor operating the wind farm on completion.
“Offshore wind is critical to generating renewable, efficient energy that can power British homes from British seas,” said UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who hailed this landmark moment. “I’m proud that this country is already a world leader in reaching Net Zero by 2050, and by doubling down on the new green industries of the future, we’ll get there in a way that’s both pragmatic and ambitious.”
Alistair Phillips-Davies, Chief Executive of SSE, said, “Dogger Bank will provide a significant boost to UK energy security, affordability, and leadership in tackling climate change.”
