7th March 2024 in Supply Chain
CFB Risk Management (CFB RMS) CIC has supported the World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm, Dogger Bank, providing Emergency Response Plans.
Dogger Bank Wind Farm has awarded CFB RMS with the opportunity to develop and produce their Emergency Response Plans for their Logistics and Warehouse departments, which are based from the Dogger Bank operations and maintenance base in South Shields, North East England.
Dogger Bank is committed to long-term value creation in a low-carbon future, investing £1m during the construction phase of the wind farm, working with education providers to support the development of skills for the future of green energy.
CFB RMS, who are a CIC, give back 65% of profits to support the local community, a value that is very much close to Dogger Bank’s heart.
CFB RMS have unique expertise and decades of experiencing managing highly complex emergency response situations within High Hazard industries globally including; Chemical, Energy and Oil & Gas, with a passion for excellence and customers being at the forefront of everything we do.
CFB RMS are always looking to build up strong existing client relationships. Securing this contract with such an innovative company, who have an eagerness to take on new challenges, and strive to make a safe and good place to work and put their people first, and committed to minimising negative impact on people and the environment.
Working closely with them will allow us to exchange ideas that provide more sustainable services, optimising the skills and expertise CFB RMS technical team hold to ensure plans are in place to support Equinor’s team in the event of an emergency situation.
We are excited to work with a global leader, and to start implementing key training and service requirements to prevent major accidents, and protect business reputation the best way possible, in order to satisfy our client on a personal level by providing the best services within the market.
CFB RMS have already built a great relationship with this organisation, and look forward to watching this relationship grow and flourish over time.
1st February 2024 in Construction, Operations, Project news
North Star’s third hybrid-propulsion service operation vessel (SOV), the Grampian Tees, was named this week at an event held at the Port of Aberdeen, ahead of an early delivery to the Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
Jane Cunningham, PA to SSE’s Director of Capital Projects and the Dogger Bank Project Director, was named as the Godmother to the Grampian Tees; and Jessica Grant, the daughter of Mark Grant, Dogger Bank Head of Procurement and Commercial at SSE Renewables, was named as the Goddaughter of the Susan Auld daughter craft vessel. Together, they successfully performed the traditional good luck celebration by smashing a champagne bottle on the vessel after a blessing from one of the Aberdeen Seafarer’s Centre Port Chaplins.
The Grampian Tees reflects North Star’s Scottish heritage and the famous river in the North-East of England, where she will initially support the construction and commissioning of the wind farm from, before moving to support Operations, based out of the flagship O&M Base in the Port of Tyne. The daughter craft’s name honours Susan Auld (10th January 1915 – 9 March 2002), who was a pioneering naval architect from Tynemouth, North East England, and the first women to graduate as a naval architect from Durham University.
The Grampian Tees vessel belongs to the VARD 4 12 design and is one of four that will be used for at least ten years to support operations and maintenance at the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which located more than 130km off the coast of Yorkshire in the North Sea. The vessel joins the Grampian Tyne and Grampian Derwent vessels, which were both delivered ahead of schedule to the wind farm in 2023.
The vessel design offers high-quality living quarters for technicians servicing the offshore wind turbines including a gym, along with a centralised logistics center capable of handling cargo and functioning as a warehouse for Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which is set to be the world’s largest offshore wind farm once complete.
In 2021, Dogger Bank Wind Farm awarded North Star Renewables with contracts to deliver four state-of-the-art SOVs to the project, creating 170 UK jobs based in crewing and shore-based roles.
10th January 2024 in Supply Chain
Suppliers to the renewable energy sector have been able to strengthen their engagement with Dogger Bank Wind Farm and discover new opportunities.
Following the Dogger Bank Wind Farm ‘Meet the Buyer’ event on November 23, which took place at Hardwick Hall Hotel in Sedgefield, NOF and Dogger Bank Wind Farm has announced that nearly 5000 delegates have now attended 22 supply chain engagement events over the last five years. The 22 events, all organised by NOF – the business development membership organisation for the energy sector – were designed to educate businesses on the opportunities created by the project, driving innovation and building new relationships and partnerships across the offshore wind sector.
Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which is located more than 130km off the coast of North East England, will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm once complete. It will have a total capacity of 3.6GW, which is enough to power around six million homes in the UK with renewable electricity and is approximately equivalent to 5% of the UK’s electricity demand.
The wind farm is a joint venture between SSE Renewables, the lead operator for the development and construction of the wind farm, Equinor, who will be lead operator for the for the duration of the wind farm’s operational phase, and Vårgrønn, who bring specialist offshore wind expertise to the project. Equinor will operate the wind farm for its expected operational life of around 35 years from a state-of-the-art Operations and Maintenance (O&M) base at Port of Tyne in South Shields.
Based in Durham, North East England, NOF is a national membership organisation working with organisations of all sizes across the energy industry supply chain, including offshore wind, hydrogen, carbon capture & storage (CCS), nuclear and oil and gas. The organisation has more than 35 years of heritage and connects suppliers to major developers, operators and tier one contractors, to support their energy projects.
NOF has supported Dogger Bank Wind Farm with a wide variety of events. These have included a number of ‘Meet the Buyer’ events, tours of the Port of Tyne, an O&M Innovation Day with the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, which was held at Port Training Services at Port of Blyth, and an O&M Innovation Workshop at The Catalyst in Newcastle upon Tyne, which focused on robotics.
In addition, during 2020 – when it was not possible to host face to face events due to Coronavirus restrictions – NOF delivered 10 webinars involving tier one contractors, to assist Dogger Bank Wind Farm and its potential suppliers. Tier one contractors included: Jan de Nul; OHT; DEME Offshore; Jones Bros; ABB; GE Renewables; NKT; Aibel; Saipem; Sif and Smulders
NOF also delivered the Dogger Bank Wind Farm O&M Base Opening Ceremony & Drinks Reception in March 2023, to celebrate the launch of the base. This was attended by Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Graham Stuart MP, and other dignitaries.
Joanne Leng MBE, Chief Executive of NOF, said: “As a trusted supply chain partner, we are committed to supporting Dogger Bank Wind Farm in building its supply chain ecosystem and the events we deliver are key to this.
“Dogger Bank Wind Farm is a development of huge international significance that is helping to transform the UK’s energy industry. NOF is very proud to be playing its part in supporting the project.
“It has been fantastic to see so many delegates attend NOF’s Dogger Bank Wind Farm events over the last few years and we look forward to working with the wind farm’s partners, suppliers and stakeholders into 2024 and beyond.”
Tom Nightingale, North East Stakeholder Manager at Equinor, said: “We are extremely pleased to have hosted our 22nd Dogger Bank supply chain event, which have all been organised by our supply chain partner, NOF.
“The project has had the privilege of hosting almost 5000 delegates over the last five years, providing valuable networking and business opportunities to the renewable energy industry.
“Across these events, we have been able to showcase the latest advancements, trends and solutions that are being implemented to build the world’s largest offshore wind farm as well as creating new connections and opportunities for local suppliers.”
Dogger Bank Wind Farm has created or supported more than 2000 jobs to date in the UK. More than 400 long term roles associated with operations and maintenance have been provided at Port of Tyne by Equinor, GE Renewables, North Star Renewables and Port of Tyne itself.
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is investing £1 million during the construction phase to support the development of green energy skills. This will include increasing and expanding STEM provision in local communities with bespoke programmes. More investment will be made in community initiatives during the wind farm’s operational phase.
NOF works closely with clients to make valuable connections between businesses in the global energy sector. Client support can include face to face events, webinars, the coordination of one-to-one meetings, supplier enquiry support, surveys and marketing assistance.
For more information on NOF, visit https://www.nof.co.uk/
For more information on Dogger Bank Wind Farm, visit https://doggerbank.com/
18th December 2023 in Community News
Powering the Future: South Tyneside and Beyond!, a programme by South Tyneside Council and Dogger Bank Wind Farm, has been nominated for two prestigious awards in the Engineer’s 2023 Collaborate to Innovate Awards.
The programme aims to inspire and engage year 4 and 5 students, aged between 8 to 10, in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects while also preparing them for the career opportunities provided by the renewable energy sector. In the programme, Year 4 and 5 students from South Tyneside and beyond have been challenged to create a renewable energy invention using movement and wind.
The programme has been nominated for the Young Innovator award, following an invention idea from Nine-year-old Isaac, from Cleadon, who created ‘Wind Mirrors’, a creation which uses propellors attached to vehicle wing mirrors to generate renewable electricity. The programme has also been nominated in the category for best STEM Initiative.
“We are thrilled to be nominated for two Collaborate to Innovate Awards,” said Tom Nightingale, Stakeholder Manager at Dogger Bank Wind Farm. “Through this programme, we have been able to showcase careers and opportunities in the renewable energy sector to the next generation. We are proud of the innovative ideas submitted in the programme, and are amazed to see creative ideas from local young people address real world energy problems.”
Councillor Jane Carter, Lead Member for Education and Skills, said: “It’s never too early to raise the awareness of the skills needed for the jobs of the future.
“This innovative project also helped us to engage and nurture the creative talents of our young people while also raising their aspirations about the careers they can go on to enjoy in the renewable energy sector.”
The Engineer’s Collaborate to Innovate Awards aim to celebrate the best in collaborative innovation across various sectors. The awards commend projects that demonstrate collaboration between different organizations, academic institutions, and industry leaders. The winners of the awards will be announced at a ceremony held on Thursday 29th February 2024 in London.
For more information about the South Powering the Future initiative, visit https://southtyneside.littleinventors.org/
Image caption: Wind Mirrors, by Isaac from Cleadon, North East England
20th November 2023 in Community News
A campaign funded by the Dogger Bank Community Fund, encouraging young South Tyneside women to pursue science, tech, engineering and maths (STEM)-related careers has been hailed a major success.
Over the last two years, the STEMettes Leadership Academy has helped 71 women in South Tyneside aged 15-24 develop their leadership skills and learn more about STEM careers.
The hosting of the programme coincided with the tenth anniversary of STEMettes, the national charity which was founded in 2013.
Since then, over 50,000 women across the UK have participated in its events, with young women from South Tyneside among the latest to join its inspired alumni.
Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, CEO, Head of Stemette & Co-Founder Stemettes said:
“Stemettes partnership with South Tyneside has opened up future leaders & innovators in young women and non-binary folk from across the South Tyneside area.
“They’ve had a STEAM & STEM confidence boost towards their potential and have conected with role models and peers for career advice. We’ve seen lots of skill building and problem solving on climate change for South Tyneside and beyond across our collaboration.”
Led by South Tyneside Council in partnership with the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, the South Tyneside programme was aimed to ‘raise the aspiration and confidence of young women’ across the borough.
A total of 45 young women from Jarrow School, Harton Academy and St Joseph’s Academy participated in the programme, as well as 26 young women from Nissan and local colleges.
Tom Nightingale, North East Stakeholder Manager at the Dogger Bank Wind Farm said:
“The STEMettes programme by South Tyneside is an invaluable initiative that Dogger Bank Wind Farm is proud to support.
“Our aim is to not only motivate, but also empower the youth in this region to explore and excel in STEM fields, unlocking opportunities in industries like the dynamic offshore wind industry.
“With the North East England being a prominent cluster for offshore wind, we are eager to showcase the endless possibilities to the next generation of leaders in the energy sector.
Cllr Jane Carter Lead Member for Education and Skills at South Tyneside Council, added:
“It is vital that we encourage our young women to harness STEM skills.
“By taking advantage of these opportunities, they now have the knowledge, skills and aspiration to become the leaders and innovators of the future.
“I’d like to place on record my thanks to the business community for their involvement with this outstanding programme.”
One of the young women to participate in the programme was Emily Booth, a Year 11 student from St Joseph’s Catholic Academy, said:
“I was very lucky being able to attend a Stemette’s event. It allowed me to gain advice from inspiring and influential women from the North East, learn new skills in coding as well as an understanding of the job opportunities available to women in STEM. It was amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
For more information on STEMettes, visit: https://stemettes.org/
