Latest news : Press releases

Dogger Bank Wind Farm Scholarship Fund Last Call For Applicants

22nd August 2022 in Community News, Press releases

  • The scholarship fund will support students undertaking courses focussed on science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) courses, to help young people prepare for working life in a net zero world.
  • The programme is open to students in South Tyneside, Redcar and Cleveland and East Riding of Yorkshire.
  • 62 scholarships are available during the construction of the wind farm, for students in these communities studying science, technology, engineering and maths subjects to support the cost of further education.

Students from coastal communities in the north and north-east of England are reminded that a new scholarship fund closes for applications in less than two weeks. Students can apply for a new scholarship fund to prepare them for working life in a net zero world.

Dogger Bank Wind Farm’s Scholarship Fund provides grants of £5,000 to local students undertaking science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) courses in further education, with a total of 62 scholarships being awarded during the world’s largest wind farm’s construction phase.

The scholarship fund focuses on the areas of East Riding of Yorkshire, and Redcar and Cleveland, where the windfarm connects to the National Grid, as well as South Tyneside, where the Operation and Maintenance Base will be located.

The second round of the scholarship fund has proven very popular with lots of applications already received but students are reminded they only have until 1 September 2022 to apply for the second round of support. Further details and how to apply can be found at https://doggerbank.com/about/community/.

Steve Wilson, Project Director from Dogger Bank Wind Farm said

“Our scholarship fund has proven very popular with local students and we are delighted with the quality of applications we have already received but we remind local students the second round will close next month. We look forward to supporting and inspiring the workforce of the future as we continue our work to build the world’s largest offshore wind farm.”

Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be located more than 130 km off the Yorkshire coast and will generate enough renewable energy to power six million UK homes. A joint venture between SSE Renewables, Equinor and Eni Plenitude, SSE Renewables is leading on Dogger Bank construction and delivery while Equinor will operate the wind farm on completion.

In June 2021, Dogger Bank Wind Farm unveiled plans for a £1 million construction fund to support the coastal communities where its onshore infrastructure is being developed. The programme includes a significant investment in science, technology, engineering and maths, as well as an operators fund to support local causes. Further information is available at www.doggerbank.com/about/community/

Further details on the scholarship fund and the community investment from the wind farm can be found here.

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Picture caption: The scholarship fund will support students studying science, technology, engineering, and maths, to help prepare them for the highly skilled jobs in a net zero world.

Manor Renewable Energy powering construction of world’s largest offshore wind farm

27th July 2022 in Construction, Press releases, Project news, Supply Chain

Dogger Bank Wind Farm has agreed a contract with Manor Renewable Energy (MRE) to provide the temporary offshore power solution to support the construction of all three phases of the wind farm.

The contract represents MRE’s largest challenge to date, and will lead to the creation of around 20 new jobs. The jobs will be based largely in the north and north-east of England, and will provide entry-level opportunities for those wanting to begin a career in offshore renewables. Many of the new workers will be based at a new temporary operational home to be set up by MRE in the north-east.

The generators will be manufactured in the UK by JCB at the company’s Staffordshire location.

In an innovative approach to tackle the challenge of working more than 130km off the Yorkshire coast, MRE will use its generator recycling strategy to streamline the number of systems required, maintaining and refilling them using walk-to-work vessels.

Toby Mead, Chief Operating Officer at MRE, said:

“Preparations for the first phase of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm project are underway now, with MRE input starting in early 2023. From our interactions it’s clear from the outset that the client’s project team are driven to deliver this project with as much local content as possible and that’s a real plus for this landmark UK project. Bringing new people into the offshore industry has always been an important part of our company recruitment process, and this project will allow for a large number of new hires to enter the wind industry and gain experience during the construction of the largest offshore wind farm in the world; and that’s an exciting prospect.”

Dogger Bank Wind Farm Senior Project Manager, Alan Borland, said:

“Manor Renewable Energy will provide us with a safe, reliable and flexible temporary power solution during the construction of our turbines.

“The company’s generator recycling strategy allows us to operate a much smaller number of generators than a typical operation of this scale and because our turbines will self-sustain once commissioned, we’re able to operate them for a short period of time.

We’re delighted to be able to award Manor its largest contract of this kind, that will in turn provide employment opportunities in a variety of roles based largely around the north and north-east of England.”

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Picture caption: Dogger Bank Wind Farm has agreed a contract with Manor Renewable Energy (MRE) to provide the temporary offshore power solution to support the construction of all three phases of the wind farm (Image source: Manor Renewable Energy).

 

 

 

Laying the foundations for net zero on Dogger Bank Wind Farm

26th July 2022 in Construction, Press releases, Project news

The first monopile foundation was installed in July 2022
  • Significant step forward in developing more secure and affordable homegrown UK energy.
  • Campaign begins to install 277 turbine foundation monopiles and transition pieces across three phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, off the Yorkshire coast.
  • Offshore turbine foundations designed by UK-based designers from Wood Thilsted.
  • Design includes world’s first split-level transition piece design for safe installation and operation.
  • Foundations are more than 72m in length, weigh on average 1057 tonnes and include world’s largest 8m offshore wind flange.
  • Turbine foundations manufactured and fabricated by Sif and Smulders.

26 July, 2022: Work has started on the installation of 277 of some of the world’s largest offshore wind turbine foundations in the North Sea, in what is another major milestone for Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which is being developed 80 miles off the Yorkshire coast.

The world-class renewable energy project, which will be capable of powering 6 million UK homes annually on completion, is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Eni Plenitude (20%). SSE Renewables is lead operator for the development and construction of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, while Equinor will be lead operator of the wind farm on completion for its expected operational life of around 35 years. 

The campaign to install turbine foundations at what will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm has commenced in recent days, with the installation of the first monopile and transition piece on Dogger Bank A. The installation campaign is being led by Seaway 7 supported by DEME.

The turbine foundations for Dogger Bank Wind Farm are UK-designed and feature a unique split-level transition piece, as well as a world’s-largest 8-meter flange – or projecting flat rim – to support the turbine towers.

Installation of GE Renewable Energy’s ground-breaking Haliade-X turbines onto each of the installed turbine foundations will commence from Spring 2023.

Steel manufactured by Tata Steel in Wales and processed in Corby and Hartlepool is being used in the supporting components of the transition pieces, while South Tyneside-based Metec and Rochdale-based Granada Material Handling have also won contracts with Smulders to support this innovative and world-leading project.

Dogger Bank Wind Farm Project Director, Steve Wilson, said:

“These foundations have been designed for what is arguably the most demanding wave environment to be encountered on an offshore wind farm and are a testament to the many companies involved in collaborating to reach this unprecedented milestone.

“As well as the sheer scale of the foundations, we’ve incorporated a unique split-level transition piece which allows safe access for technicians directly into the turbine tower from our service and operations vessels, eliminating thousands of manual handling activities and lifting operations over the lifetime of the assets.

“Successful installation of our first monopiles and transitions pieces is a giant leap for offshore wind globally and will lay the foundations for Dogger Bank Wind Farm to contribute to meeting the UK’s net zero target, enabling the development of a future energy system that is cleaner, cheaper and more secure. It also demonstrates the continued innovation in our sector as we begin to install the increasingly larger and more powerful turbines that are needed to fuel our homes and businesses safely and securely in a net zero world.”

Designed in the UK by experts from Wood Thilsted, the foundations have been optimised to tackle challenging wave loads in the Dogger Bank area of the North Sea, with installation in water depths of up to 32m and at a distance of 130km from shore, and provide a solid and stable base for the scale of the GE Renewable Energy’s groundbreaking Haliade-X turbines.

Alastair Muir Wood, CEO of Wood Thilsted, said:

“Wood Thilsted is proud to be a part of making Dogger Bank Wind Farm a success. Our team faced challenges including working with the largest turbine at the time, an innovative dynamic positioning installation vessel, and some very significant wave loads.

“What made success possible was the collaborative working relationship shared with the Dogger Bank team and the other key stakeholders. This project is a model of success for current and future projects.”

Over the three-year installation programme for the three phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, a total of 277 monopiles and transition pieces will be loaded onto installation vessels in Rotterdam ahead of transfer out to the offshore wind farm site deep into the North Sea. Using dynamic positioning technology the vessels will pinpoint the installation site in the seabed at which point a monopile measuring up to 72m (equivalent to more than 6 double-decker buses end-to-end), will be upended and transferred to a pile gripper, before being lowered into the seabed.

A hammer will be used to drive the monopile to the design depth in the seabed before a guidance system aligns the installation of the record-breaking 8-metre flanges which act as a connection for the transition piece which is then installed onto the monopile. The foundations require 152 giant M80 bolts to secure them before a cover is inserted onto the top of the transition piece to leave it watertight.

Seaway 7 was awarded the tier one contract for foundation installation on all three phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, with sub-contractor DEME deploying its Innovation vessel for installation of the first foundations on Dogger Bank A. Following the DEME Innovation, the Seaway Strashnov will deploy on Dogger Bank A to continue the foundation installation.

Wouter van Dalen, Project Director, Seaway 7, said:

“The successful installation of the first Dogger Bank foundation marks the start of a multi-year installation campaign for Seaway 7. In good cooperation with our client Dogger Bank Wind Farm and our partners and suppliers, this complex project has been prepared for installation with a number of different heavy lift vessels, starting with DEME’s Innovation. Seaway 7 is proud to be part of the team that is constructing the Dogger Bank project and is looking forward to safely installing the remaining 276 foundations.”

Lucien Romagnoli, Business Unit Director Renewables at DEME Offshore, said:

“We are extremely proud to be supporting the construction of the world’s largest offshore wind farm with foundation installation and later in the programme as inter-array cable installer. These unique foundations are huge but also, they are technically complex. This is an important moment for the offshore wind industry and the energy transition. It is wonderful to be working alongside like-minded partners with the joint goal of achieving a net-zero energy system.”

In November 2020, the consortium Sif and Smulders was awarded the contract for the manufacture of all 190 monopiles and transition pieces for the Dogger Bank A and B phases of the wind farm, with a contract for Dogger Bank C’s remaining 87 monopiles and transition pieces awarded to the consortium in 2021.

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Picture caption: Work has started on the installation of 277 of the world’s largest offshore wind turbine foundations in the North Sea, in what is another major milestone for Dogger Bank Wind Farm (image credit: DEME Group). 

For further information:  

Media contact – Dogger Bank Wind Farm:

Richard Holligan, SSE Renewables

Richard.Holligan@sse.com

+44 (0) 1738 342530

Media contact – Dogger Bank Wind Farm:

Rachel Lawrence, SSE Renewables

rachel.lawrence@sse.com

+44 (0) 7385 368783

School artworks on show at offshore wind farm construction site

15th July 2022 in Community News, Events, Press releases

  • Event Date: 13th July 2022
  • Location:

An outdoor ‘gallery’ featuring art works produced by students from Outwood Academy Bydales, Marske-by-the-Sea has been officially opened this week at the Redcar landfall construction site of two offshore wind farms.

The offshore export cables of both Sofia Offshore Wind Farm and Dogger Bank C, the third phase of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, will come ashore between Redcar and Marske-by-the-Sea, just 200 metres from the Academy.

The young artists responsible for the colourful design, Year 7 and 8 students Autumn Duffy, Rosie Gibson and Talia Hall cut the ribbon to mark the opening of the ‘gallery’ which covers the hoardings of the landfall construction site.

They had worked along with their art teacher Kelly Smith to produce seven stunning images under the theme, “Love where you live”, which include local landmarks such as the Redcar Beacon and icons including Lemon Tops.

The artwork will be in situ for the duration of the construction works.

Sofia is 100% owned by RWE and Dogger Bank Wind Farm is owned by SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Eni Plenitude (20%). The projects are cooperating closely due to their proximity and to reduce impacts on local stakeholders.

The separate wind farm projects are sited on Dogger Bank in the middle of the North Sea, more than 190 kilometres from the north-east coast of England. The power they produce will be transmitted by export cables that arrive on shore between Redcar and Marske-by-the-Sea, on Teesside.

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Dogger Bank Wind Farm Community Fund sponsors STEMFest Net Zero in North East England

4th July 2022 in Community News, Events, Press releases

  • Event Date:
  • Location:

Over 3000 primary and secondary school children in the North East of England are set to attend STEMFest Net Zero across 3 days, with Dogger Bank Wind Farm sponsoring the Power and Natural Resources Zone.

STEMFest will deliver a Net Zero theme in direct response to the growing renewable energy sector in the region. The event will showcase the range of green energy businesses, careers, and job roles available across the region both now and in the future. STEMFest will take place at St. James Park in Newcastle, and is being delivered by North East STEM Hub, Newcastle United Foundation, RTC North and STEM Ambassador Hub North East.

With our Operation and Maintenance Base located at the Port of Tyne, Dogger Bank Wind Farm community fund is working closely with South Tyneside Council to provide funding for local school children to travel to and from STEMFest.

Tom Nightingale, North East Stakeholder Manager said “STEM initiatives are at the heart of the Dogger Bank Community Fund and we are excited to support this major event in Newcastle, where we are building our operations and maintenance base. We hope to inspire young people in the region to study STEM subjects and enter careers in industries such as the energy sector. North East England is a leading UK cluster for offshore wind and we look forward to showcasing this to the next generation.

We are also working with South Tyneside Council in order to make the event accessible to local school children and are providing funding to transport students to and from the event. We are proud to be delivering such important services that can make a real difference to the lives of people in our local communities, in addition to the jobs and supply chain benefits created by the wind farm”.

In addition to supporting STEM provision in the classroom and STEM activities, 62 students from the North East of England and East Riding of Yorkshire will receive a scholarship to help with the cost of further education qualifications while studying STEM subjects, with the first 25 already awarded.

The £1 million investment also includes an Operators Fund to support other local causes to the value of up to £500. Community projects and local organisations in South Tyneside can apply at www.doggerbank.com.

Additional community funding will be allocated throughout the operational phase of the windfarm. The Dogger Bank Wind Farm STEM investment is one of the largest commitments to skills ever made by the offshore wind sector.

Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be located more than 130 km off the Yorkshire coast and will generate enough renewable energy to power six million UK homes. A joint venture between SSE Renewables, Equinor and Eni Plenitude, SSE Renewables is leading on Dogger Bank construction and delivery while Equinor will operate the wind farm for its lifetime, from a new base to be constructed at Port of Tyne.