STAVANGER, Norway — The Dogger Bank wind farm in the southern UK North Sea has supplied its first power to Britain’s national grid.
Startup followed installation of the initial GE Vernova Haliade-X 13-MW turbine by Jan de Nul’s new jackup vessel Voltaire at Dogger Bank A. It is also the first time this design of turbine, 260 m tall with 107-m long blades, has operated offshore anywhere, according to project partner Equinor.
Eventually the 3.6-GW development, under construction in three phases 130 km from the Yorkshire coast, will provide power from 277 turbines.
Power is now transmitted via Dogger Bank’s HVDC transmission system supplied by Hitachi Energy—another first-time installation for a UK wind farm—and from the world’s first offshore HVDC substation platform.
SSE Renewables is leading the development/construction phase for Dogger Bank A, B and C, with Equinor taking over as lead operator during the operational phase and through the project’s expected 35-year lifetime. Vårgrønn, a joint venture between Eni Plenitude and HitecVision, is the other partner.