28th June 2023 in Community News, Press releases
As part of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm and South Tyneside Council’s Little Inventors programme, a young inventor is to see his planet-saving idea spring to life, with the support of two South Tyneside pioneers.
Nine-year-old Isaac, from Cleadon, visited Ford Aerospace at Port of Tyne this week to present his Wind Mirrors to a panel of high-profile business leaders.
Isaac created a planet-saving invention as part of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm and South Tyneside Council’s Little Inventors Programme. This is among 8 inventions that local businesses will bring to life over the upcoming months.
Working in partnership with schools across the borough, the Little Inventors Programme launched in February as a challenge to year 4 and 5 students to create inventions powered by movement and wind that could help reverse climate change.
Isaac’s idea, ‘Wind Mirrors’, would see propellors manufactured that could be attached underneath vehicle wing mirrors to generate renewable electricity that can be used to power vehicular accessories.
As Isaac explained in his presentation:
“The propellers will spin in the wind as the car moves which will then provide electricity, which will power the radio and sat nav.
“This is also a safety feature because it can power the rear and front headlights. Also, the propellers are underneath the mirrors, so it doesn’t obstruct the driver’s view.”
Cell Pack Solutions and Ford Aerospace were two of the many local businesses and bright minds to back the campaign, with both companies agreeing to collaborate to help bring one of the winning ideas to life.
Both organisations were inspired to get involved having signed the South Tyneside Pledge, a commitment by over two hundred local organisations to boost local economic activity, reduce health inequalities, lower carbon emissions, and enhance civic pride. Equinor, future operator of Dogger Bank Wind Farm is also a signatory of the pledge.
After finding out about Isaac’s idea and being ‘blown away’ by his ‘thorough and diverse’ invention, they agreed to work together to develop a working prototype, with Isaac leading as the project manager.
Speaking after the presentation, Isaac said:
“I spend a lot of time drawing cars and building this with LEGO, so I was really happy when I found out I had won.
“The idea was to use a propellor that can generate wind from the momentum of the car and use it to power things such as the sat nav. We have also spoken about using a battery to store the electricity but that would be further down the line.
“It’s been totally mad seeing the design come to life and seeing how the two companies have worked together on it and I can’t wait to see the final version once they have made the improvements we discussed today. It’s all been really worthwhile.”
The Dogger Bank Community Fund and South Tyneside Council launched the Little Inventors Programme to support and increase understanding of skills in science, technology, engineering and maths for young people and their parents and to raise awareness of the economic and environmental opportunities presented by renewable energy.
Each of the winning ideas will be on show at a public exhibition at The Word, South Shields from July 16th 2023 until the end of November 2023. Visitors to The Word will also be able to submit their own ideas, with one further idea being brought to life and exhibited from September 2023.
Tom Nightingale, North East Stakeholder Manager for Equinor, said:
“It is fantastic to see the local community helping to develop new inventions linked to renewable energy as we look to tackle climate change. Isaac is one of many little inventors with great ideas that are building on our work at Dogger Bank Wind Farm to start a green revolution from here in South Tyneside. We are looking forward to seeing the inventions brought to life and it is even better that the campaign is being backed by local businesses.”
Cllr Margaret Meling, Lead Member for Economic Growth and Transport, said:
“Isaac must be incredibly proud that his idea is to be turned into a real product with the help of local businesses.
“This programme is an excellent way of inspiring children and igniting their passion for STEM not just in the classroom, but to find innovative solutions to real-life problems.
“As Isaac has illustrated, we have some brilliant young minds in the borough!”
For more information, visit: https://southtyneside.littleinventors.org/
27th June 2023 in Community News, Press releases, Uncategorised
A fine art student from Northumberland will have her art displayed at our operation and maintenance base in Port of Tyne after winning the Dogger Bank Wind Farm purchase prize.
Britney Fraser, from Widdrington, in Northumberland, draws upon her family’s mining heritage and working class culture in her work. ‘Alreet’ and ‘Howay’ are part of her final year degree show and part of a series of pieces featuring regional words, also including ‘canny’ and ‘divvnt’ in her family’s handwriting on traditional ‘proggy’ mats made from recycled textiles. Her art highlights untold, overlooked, and undervalued stories from Northumberland’s working communities by transforming materials associated with manual labour into sculptural elevations of trade workers.
“My art is all about work,” says Britney.
“So I’m really happy that something so grounded in the North East and in its working-class communities will go on show at Dogger Bank Wind farm’s offices where people will see it every day.”
Felicity Wann, Operations Leader at Dogger Bank Wind Farm, said:
“We are delighted to present the Dogger Bank Purchase Prize Award to Britney for her inspiring artwork, which honours the North-East of England. We are excited to display Britney’s ‘Howay’ and ‘Alreet’ artworks in the entrance to our Operations and Maintenance base located at The Port of Tyne, giving employees and visitors the chance to view the pieces every time they enter the base. At Dogger Bank Wind Farm, it is our strategy to invest into the local community, so it is fantastic for the winning art pieces to have come from a student from Northumberland in the North-East of England.”
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is working with Newcastle art gallery Gallagher and Turner on the purchase prize for the next four years, with a yearly purchase prize for art students at Newcastle and Sunderland Universities. Selected works will be displayed at the Wind Farm’s Operations and Maintenance base.
You can see Britney’s artworks at the Fine Art Degree Show which reopens in Space Liverpool from 28 June to 1 July.
8th June 2023 in Operations, Press releases, Project news, Supply Chain
The first of North Star’s new offshore wind fleet, the Grampian Tyne, has been officially named at a VIP ceremony at the Dogger Bank Operations and Maintenance Base at the Port of Tyne in the North East of England (UK), ahead of its early handover to the Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
The traditional good luck celebration, involving the customary champagne bottle being smashed against the hull of the ship, was successfully carried out by the ship’s godmother, Lindsay Gordon, wife of North Star CEO, Matthew Gordon.
The service operation vessel (SOV) is of VARD 4 12-design and is one of four destined for decade-long minimum charters to support operations and maintenance (O&M) work at the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm and its partners Equinor (40%), SSE Renewables (40%), and Vårgrønn (20%). Once the wind farm is fully completed, it will be the largest in the world, producing enough electricity to power six million British homes.
Matthew Gordon, North Star CEO, said:
“Being able to welcome our clients and esteemed guests onboard the Grampian Tyne in all her glory has been an incredibly proud moment for the entire North Star team and everyone involved in its design and construction. The significance of the name is not just a simple nod to the river, but to the people and the community this vessel and wind farm serve. We’re extremely proud of the links being built with the local supply chain with a rich history of shipping on this waterway.
“We employ a very talented workforce who have remained completely focused throughout the project management, resulting in the ship being built, sea trialled, and outfitted ahead of time. We also work with an incredible local supply chain and look forward to seeing more investment and recruitment opportunities being brought to the area as we continue on our journey to deliver three further ships for Dogger Bank, which will also all be based out of Port of Tyne.”
All three remaining hybrid-electric powered SOV newbuilds, being built by VARD, are on track for being operational at Dogger Bank A, B and C by 2026. The company’s state-of-the-art design provides high-quality accommodation to offshore wind turbine technicians, as well as a centralised logistics hub configured to handle cargo and act as a functioning warehouse offshore.
Kamala Hajiyeva, head of Dogger Bank Development at Equinor, said:
“We are thrilled to welcome the new Grampian Tyne service operation vessel to our Operations and Maintenance base here at the Port of Tyne. The vessel provides a best in class working and living environment for our offshore wind technicians and team members, ensuring they can carry out essential maintenance safely and comfortably. The vessel’s advanced features will also provide essential services to the development of the Dogger Bank wind farm, that when complete in 2026, will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm.”
The Grampian Tyne boasts some of the most innovative technologies in the maritime sector. This includes medium speed MGO power generation gensets with hybrid battery architecture in-built, coupled with Voith-Schneider eVSP propulsion package to maximise the operating envelope offshore, reduce fuel burn and improve comfort for all on board. The inclusion of a side loading logistics concept allows quayside reloading directly to the SOV covered main deck warehouse facility for both the client’s cargo and ships stores safely and efficiently.
The operational planning is supported by a new best in-class decision support software and digital twin solution created with MO4 that will be deployed across the fleet to improve operational performance through predicational planning of client scheduling, metocean forecasts and collated KPI monitoring reporting.
The SOV is equipped with a bespoke new concept and designed daughter craft for effective high performance, safe and efficient offshore support of technician and cargo deployment, engineered to perform in up to 1.7m Hs sea-state.
Steve Wilson, Director for Capital Projects for Offshore at SSE Renewables, said:
“The naming of North Star’s first of four SOVs destined for Dogger Bank Wind Farm marks another key milestone in the project. For Aberdeen based company, North Star, to achieve handover of the SOV to Dogger Bank on schedule is testament to the hard work by everyone involved with the design and construction.
“Dogger Bank Wind Farm is fully committed to supporting the local supply chain and communities in the UK where possible and we’re proud to have played a role in enabling this UK company to take advantage of the global opportunity presented by offshore wind. It is evident that securing significant orders like this can really help UK businesses enter the offshore wind market, secure investment and create sustainable jobs.”
Each SOV is being built at VARD’s facilities in Vietnam. The Grace Darling, named after the British lighthouse keeper’s daughter who rescued survivors from a wrecked steamship off the coast of Northumberland in 1838, is North Star’s first of its associated hybrid-powered daughter craft used primarily as crew transfer vessels, was designed in collaboration with leading naval architects, Southampton-based Chartwell Marine. The SOV workboat was built by Alicat Workboats in Great Yarmouth.
CEO of VARD, Alberto Maestrini, said:
“We congratulate North Star with the naming ceremony of their first vessel in their renewable fleet. We are delighted that they chose VARD on their way to a sustainable future in the industry, and happy to deliver Grampian Tyne before schedule. This shows VARD’s strength as a fully integrated forward leaning designer and ship builder. Together we have developed a vessel that through its design and advanced technological solutions is tailor made with optimal standards to operate in harsh environment with a low environmental footprint. VARD aims to lead the green transition in the maritime industry, and through this collaboration with North Star, we both continue to enable sustainable business at sea.”
Last month (May), North Star contracted VARD for up to a further four new offshore wind vessels. The new commissioning service operation vessels (CSOVs) take the firm a step closer to its ambition of expanding its fleet with 40 renewables fleet by 2040 to support the growing UK and European markets.
Picture caption (left to right): North Star’s Keith Sutherland, Olly Cass from SSE Renewables, Matthew Gordon, North Star CEO, VARD’s Runar Vagnes, Equinor’s Kamala Hajiyeva, and William Ritchie, also North Star.
