21st February 2024 in Community News, Project news
Raised aspirations in schools and reduced debt burden for students are just some of the outcomes highlighted in an independent report evaluating the impact of Dogger Bank Wind Farm’s £1 million investment in key communities during its initial construction period.
The report, by independent social research experts ekosgen, looked at Dogger Bank Wind Farm’s community investment programme between 2021 and 2023.
In its conclusions, ekosgen describes Dogger Bank Wind Farm as a market leader for its commitment to evaluating outcomes and areas for improvement in its community investment.
The Dogger Bank Wind Farm £1 million construction fund was launched in summer 2021, to support the communities closest to the sites that will be home to the onshore assets required to operate and maintain the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
Split between the areas of East Riding of Yorkshire, Redcar & Cleveland and South Tyneside, the package of financial support focused on enhancing science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education, to help young people prepare for life in a net zero world.
Working with the local education providers in each of the three key areas, the award-winning wind farm project funded bespoke programmes to address the individual needs in each area.
In addition to this, 62 students across the three key communities received £5,000 scholarships to support their STEM education courses, and £1,000 grants were awarded to grassroots community initiatives through a scheme known as the operator fund.
Teachers who provided feedback to the authors of the study talked about their ability to extend pupils’ knowledge of careers, and enhancing links with employers and career specialists.
Feedback from STEM students showed financial support from Dogger Bank Wind Farm has helped to reduce the burden of student debt, while the report states grants available to grassroots community initiatives are straightforward to access and can have a big impact in the wind farm’s key communities.
The report also highlights areas for further development to take into consideration as the wind farm refines its plans for further investment during its 35-your operational lifetime.
The progress highlighted in the report shows what can be achieved when industry works together with local authorities and communities to create opportunities for coastal communities to flourish.
The full report is available here:
https://doggerbank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Dogger-Bank-Wind-Farm-community-investment-evaluation-report-February-2024.pdf
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.
1st November 2023 in Construction, Press releases, Project news, Supply Chain
Boston Energy has secured a contract with Ge Vernova to provide mechanical and electrical expertise during the construction of Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
The East Riding of Yorkshire-headquartered firm will undertake onshore commissioning and completion work at Able Seaton in Hartlepool, as well as offshore mechanical and electrical (M&E) completion and offshore commissioning.
The work will involve more than 190 UK based personnel at its peak, and represents Boston’s largest ever single award in offshore wind.
Dogger Bank Wind Farm Commercial Director, Simon Bailey, said:
“It’s great to see another key contractor creating job opportunities to support the construction of Dogger Bank Wind Farm. Construction and commissioning of turbine technology is a critical element of our programme that will help us to steadily ramp up to full operating capacity of 3.6GW by 2026.”
Nathan Fahey, Project Director at GE Vernova, said:
“We have been working with Boston Energy since the contract award for offshore commissioning of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm and I’m really pleased to have them as a trusted partner as we move into the operational phase of the project.
“I trust the team will deliver the expected results, at the quality and execution standards we want to provide to our customer.
“We are very much looking forward to working with Boston Energy to help us deliver this fantastic project utilising our Haliade-X turbines. Delivering this project will significantly enhance the UK’s net zero ambitions and help make a substantial dent in CO2 emissions.”
Julian Cattermole, CEO of Boston Energy, said:
“We’re thrilled that GE Vernova have entrusted us to deliver the onshore and offshore commissioning of this truly exciting, and transformative project.
“GE has recognised that Boston Energy has a very strong track record of delivering exceptional quality on its projects as well as ensuring it delivers to budget and to the highest safety and environmental standards.
“We now need to get on and deliver to those same exacting standards that GE Vernova expects.”
To demonstrate its commitment to local content, Boston Energy has employed 80 per cent of its offshore team and 85 per cent of its onshore team from the North East of England, where pre construction activities are taking place.
26th October 2023 in Operations, Project news, Supply Chain
The second of North Star’s new offshore wind fleet, the Grampian Derwent, has been delivered ahead of schedule to the Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
The vessel was named at a ceremony at the Dogger Bank Operations and Maintenance Base at the Port of Tyne in the South Shields, England, where Sophie Banham and Emma Simpson, successfully performed the good luck ritual of smashing a champagne bottle against the ship’s hull during the traditional celebration.
Sophie Banham, who was first involved in the Dogger Bank Wind Farm in 2008, has been chosen as the ship’s godmother. Emma Simpson, daughter of Euan Simpson, Dogger Bank Marine Supervisor, has been named the goddaughter of the Alison Kay daughter craft vessel, which will be permanently stationed on the Grampian Derwent.
The name of the daughter craft honours Alison Kay, who established The People’s Kitchen in Newcastle upon Tyne as a means of providing food and hope to individuals who are homeless and sleeping on the streets of the city.
The 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, located 130km off the coast of Yorkshire in the North Sea. The vessel joins the Grampian Tyne vessel, which was delivered to the wind farm in June 2023.
The 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 for Dogger Bank, which will become the largest offshore wind farm upon completion.
13th October 2023 in Operations, Project news, Supply Chain
Certex UK’s Great Yarmouth based Engineering Services Division has won a major framework to supply statutory inspection and maintenance services on Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
The contract covers inspection and maintenance of cranes, personnel lifts, general lifting, and safety equipment across all the wind turbines and balance of plant.
Terry Hoenes, Renewables Divisional Manager, Certex UK said: “We have a long-established history working with Equinor on the Greater Wash windfarms off East Anglia and are delighted to have been awarded the 5-year framework. Our hard work over the years providing a strong service and the work put in to produce a competitive tender have paid off and we look forward to starting work on the GE platform wind turbine, the first of its kind in the UK”.
Certex UK Engineering Services Division is part of the Lifting Solutions Group of 22 companies with over 100 locations worldwide, with the renewable energy sector largely being served to date from the UK, Taiwan, and Denmark. However, a newly launched global renewables division incorporates additional companies in Germany, Spain, France, China, and the United States, which has recently pivoted towards wind energy.
Ian Shaw, Engineering Services Divisional Manager, said:
“This is another great step forward for our Engineering Services Division, and working closely with Equinor, gives us the opportunity to introduce more new starters to the industry through our mentorship and training programmes. Equinor has always been an excellent ambassador for development of new starters which helps us to grow a sustainable skilled workforce.” Shaw added “The wider renewables industry growth is continually accelerating, and we need to ensure the supply chain and pool of skilled workers are available, to play our part in this we have developed a route to career programme covering the entry level GWO safety training at our newly accredited facility in Doncaster and the technical inspection training at our site in Great Yarmouth. We have also recently started working with ex forces resettlement agencies and look forward to introducing many more new people to a career in wind”.
