21st September 2022 in Construction, Press releases, Project news, Supply Chain
- Almost 73 miles of onshore HVDC cable weighing 3,500 tonnes installed in East Riding of Yorkshire
- Cable installation was carried out by North Wales-based Jones Bros Civil Engineering and supported by Bristol-based Powersystems UK and North Yorkshire cable specialists FB Taylor
- Initial ground preparation and drilling works supported by Essex-based Joseph Gallagher Group
- Cable work integral to future transmission of renewable energy from the world’s largest offshore wind farm to UK homes and businesses
The team building Dogger Bank Wind Farm has safely installed almost 73 miles of HVDC underground cables in East Riding of Yorkshire in another giant milestone for the world-leading project.
Onshore construction for the first two phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm began in January 2020 when Jones Bros Civil Engineering broke ground near the village of Ulrome in East Riding of Yorkshire.
The North Wales civil engineering specialists have installed almost 73 miles of HVDC cables in East Riding, with support from Bristol-based Powersystems UK and North Yorkshire cable installation specialists F B Taylor.
Jones Bros commenced installation of the cable ducting system in spring 2020, with the support of Essex-based Joseph Gallagher undertaking a series of horizontal directional drills in preparation for cable installation works to begin last summer.
This latest milestone marks the completion of HVDC cable installation work in East Riding, with the team now focusing on the installation of around four miles of HVAC cable from its convertor station site near Beverley, to the Creyke Beck electricity sub-station near Cottingham.
Work is also underway to reinstate the land to its former condition, following completion of this part of the programme.
Onshore project manager for Dogger Bank Wind Farm, Oliver Flattery, said:
“The whole team has worked incredibly hard and diligently since the start of 2020 to safely and efficiently prepare the 30km route, through a combination of trenching and drilling methods, before installing protective ducts and then feeding 3,362 tonnes of underground cables through these ducts.
“This has been a huge undertaking, and one we’re all proud to have been part of.
“We thank local residents and businesses in East Riding of Yorkshire for their patience and understanding over the last 2 years while this work has been taking place.”
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is being built in the North Sea more than 130km from the Yorkshire coast in three phases known as Dogger Bank A, B and C. Dogger Bank A and B phases will connect to the national grid near Beverley in East Riding of Yorkshire, while Dogger Bank C will connect to the grid near Redcar in the Tees Valley.
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%).
The electricity generated by the Dogger Bank A and B wind turbines will come ashore south of Bridlington at Ulrome in East Riding, and be transmitted via underground HVDC cables to the onshore convertor station site in East Riding.
The HVDC cable route ends at the convertor station site near Beverley, where two convertor stations are currently under construction. Here, the electricity will be converted from HVDC to HVAC current for transmission to homes and businesses via the UK grid network.
The Dogger Bank project is the first offshore wind farm in the UK to use HVDC technology, which allows electricity to be transmitted efficiently across long distances.
Jones Bros project manager James Lockwood said:
“Hitting this key milestone on the world’s largest offshore wind farm has been made possible thanks to the efforts of every individual on site.
“I know it brings everyone from senior managers to trainees and apprentices a great sense of pride to be associated with this project, and we’re excited to see how the rest of the scheme develops.”
Nigel Baldwin, Health and Safety Director for F B Taylor, said:
“Working on the largest offshore wind farm has been a humbling experience for all involved and something that we are immensely proud of. We would like to thank the full site team for their work ethic and support during this project and hope to be involved with many more offshore opportunities throughout the coming years”.
Jonathan Stock, Head of Projects for Powersystems UK, said:
“We are very pleased to announce the completion of the HVDC cable installation at Dogger Bank Wind Farm, the world’s largest offshore windfarm. This is a huge achievement for all involved and particularly the efforts of the Powersystems UK team, our supply chain partners FB Taylors and Collett Transport and partners Jones Bros.
“The team showed great pride, professionalism, proactiveness, partnership and priority towards health, safety, environment, and quality.”
Tony Matheson, Director at Joseph Gallagher Limited, said:
“This has been a fantastic project to work on over the past two years. Our team have been instrumental throughout, operating four horizontal directional drilling rigs simultaneously during peak times, installing an impressive 27km of duct in 140 drills – ranging from 50m to 620m and then returning to grout the cables after the install.
“It’s been a true collaborative effort working with Jones Bros throughout the project. The team’s work ethic shone through helping to deliver the project to programme and with safety at the forefront – something we are very proud to have been part of.”
Offshore construction work on the first two phases of the project began in April with the start of work to install sub-sea HVDC cables off the Yorkshire coast. And in July the project celebrated the successful installation of the first foundation in the North Sea. Next year the team will install the first turbine on Dogger Bank A, with a total 277 GE Renewable Energy Haliade-X turbines set to be installed on all three phases of the project by 2026.
Onshore work is also underway on the third phase of the windfarm in the Tees Valley, where the project is collaborating with neighbouring Sofia Offshore Wind Farm, owned by RWE, to minimise disruption to the local community.
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Picture caption: Dogger Bank Wind Farm has successfully installed nearly 73 miles of HVDC cables in East Riding of Yorkshire for the first two phases of the project.
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).
26th July 2022 in Construction, Press releases, Project news
- 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, 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
10th May 2022 in Construction, Press releases, Project news, Supply Chain
The first of a number of transformers that will enable the transmission of renewable energy from the world’s largest offshore wind farm has been delivered.
The transformers will play an integral role in the operation of three onshore convertor stations in East Riding of Yorkshire and on Teesside, that will eventually convert the current from the wind farm for transmission via the national grid network to 6 million UK homes.
This week the first transformer was successfully transported from Port of Hull to the first convertor station off the A1079 near Beverley in East Riding, where construction of a second convertor station is also underway by tier one supplier Hitachi Energy. Three further deliveries are scheduled in East Riding on the mornings of 15, 22 and 29 May, with deliveries for the second East Riding convertor station taking place in 2023.
Heavy lift and transportation specialist Allelys, was appointed by Hitachi Energy to carry out and oversee these latest deliveries.
Dogger Bank Wind Farm Transmission Package Manager Børge Angelfloss, said:
“Successful delivery of the first transformer is an important milestone for our world-leading project.
“Our thanks go to all those involved in ensuring this happened safely, including the local highways authority and representatives from Humberside Police for their valuable expertise on the route between Port of Hull and our convertor station site.”
Hitachi Energy is due to start work on the third convertor station on Teesside later this year. The company is responsible for providing its high-voltage direct current (HVDC) Light® systems for all three phases of the wind farm, including the projects three high-tech onshore convertor stations.
Göran Isacsson, Project Director for Hitachi Energy, said:
“Hitachi Energy is proud to be connecting the Dogger Bank Wind Farm to the energy grid using HVDC (high voltage direct current) technology.
“The delivery and installation of the transformers at the onshore converter stations we are building are important milestones for the project. We are pleased to have successfully achieved this first shipment and we thank the local authorities and community for their support and patience.”
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is being built in three phases known as A, B and C. The project is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Eni Plenitude (20%).
It will be the first HVDC connected wind farm in the UK, paving the way for other UK wind farms and suppliers to build on our experience transmitting renewable energy safely and efficiently across long distances while minimising potential losses.
Last month the Dogger Bank Wind Farm team officially marked the start of its offshore construction work with the installation of the first length of HVDC export cable off the Yorkshire coast.
Tier one supplier NKT is leading the work to install the Dogger Bank A nearshore cable, that will connect the first phase of the windfarm more than 130km off the coast to a landfall point at Ulrome, in East Riding of Yorkshire.
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Picture caption: The first transformer has been delivered to the convertor station site for the first phase of Dogger Bank Wind Farm. Image source: Dogger Bank Wind Farm
9th May 2022 in Construction, Project news, Supply Chain
The first transition pieces for the first phase of Dogger Bank Wind Farm have been successfully loaded out at Smulders’ yard in Hoboken, Belgium. The transition pieces are being shipped to Sif’s Maasvlakte 2 terminal in Rotterdam ahead of their installation in the North Sea starting later this year.
In total, 95 transition pieces will be installed on Dogger Bank A, with a further 182 required for phases B and C of the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
Dogger Bank Wind Farm Marine Package Manager, Alan Evans, said:
“With a diameter of 8m and weighing in at 550 tonnes, the Dogger Bank A transition pieces are the heaviest and have the largest diameter of any to be manufactured at Smulders’ Hoboken facility.
“Successful load out of the first four of these impressive structures is an important milestone for everyone involved, and a testament to the strong partnership we share with our designers and manufacturers.”
In November 2020, the consortium Sif and Smulders was awarded the contract for the manufacture of all 190 monopiles and transition pieces for the first phases of the wind farm in November 2020, with a contract for Dogger Bank C awarded in 2021.
The monopile foundations and transition pieces for the project were designed in the UK by Wood Thilsted. Steel manufactured by Tata Steel in Wales and processed in Corby and Hartlepool is to be 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.
Caption: The first transition pieces for the first phase of Dogger Bank Wind Farm have been successfully loaded out at Smulders’ yard in Hoboken, Belgium. Image source: Smulders
