20th February 2024 in Community News, Supply Chain
J&B Recycling has announced its first annual donation to the charity Feeding Families. This contribution is sourced from the revenue generated by recycling materials from the construction of Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
In 2023 J&B Recycling secured a 3-year contract with GE Renewable Energy for sustainable waste management during the construction of the wind farm. This collaboration underscores a shared interest in environmental responsibility while also having a direct impact on the local community.
Under the terms of the agreement with GE Renewable Energy, J&B Recycling committed to donating revenue from recycled materials to a local charity. The chosen beneficiary, Feeding Families, operates in the North East to combat food poverty. Given the current economic situation, this support is particularly relevant and needed in the region where J&B Recycling operates.
Ingrid Brough-Williams, Marketing Manager at J&B Recycling, said:
“The scale of their operation is substantial; they need to distribute over 3,000 boxes monthly to those in need. It’s a challenging task, especially as they cannot always rely on food donations and often have to purchase supplies. Hearing the stories of individuals and families in our area facing severe hardship was eye-opening and underscores the importance of our contribution.”
Sarah McPhie from Feeding Families, said:
“We are incredibly grateful for the support from J&B Recycling and Dogger Bank Wind Farm. This partnership is not just about the financial contribution; it’s a lifeline for many families. It’s heartening to see local companies stepping up to make a real difference in the community. Their support enables us to continue our work, reaching more families in need during these challenging times.”
Dogger Bank Wind Farm Community Engagement Manager, Rachel Lawrence, said:
“It’s truly heart warming to see our supply chain improving the lives of families in our key communities. J&B are helping us to ensure the legacy of our construction programme is far-reaching and helping those who most need it.”
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/
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.
26th October 2023 in Construction, Supply Chain
Sofia Offshore Wind Farm and Dogger Bank C, the third phase of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, will begin transporting electricity transformers from Teesport to the home of both projects’ onshore converter station sites near Lazenby from late October into mid-December.
There will be four Sofia deliveries anticipated, starting on the Saturday mornings of 28 October and 4, 11 and 18 November. Each delivery will take approximately one hour, depending on the conditions.
There will also be a series of deliveries to support Dogger Bank C Wind Farm’s converter station construction programme. The transformers will take the same route and commence on 18 November, followed by 25 November and 2 and 9 December.
The transformers will travel from Teesport via the A1015 and A174 and will be delivered on specialist girder frame trailers provided by UK firm Allelys. The size of the transformers requires the use of abnormal load vehicles due to being approximately 35m long and 4.55m wide – with the load travelling at roughly 10 -15 miles per hour.
Chris O’Donnell, Site Manager for DBC Onshore Converter Station said:
“While we will do everything we can to minimise disruption during these deliveries, it is possible some journey times may be slightly longer than normal and we would ask occupants and local residents for their patience as we carry out this critical work.”
“Delivery of these transformers is an important milestone for the construction of our infrastructure in Redcar.”
“We are extremely grateful for the ongoing patience and understanding of the communities in this area as we build the infrastructure that will help the UK to reduce carbon emissions and create a secure electricity supply for 6 million UK homes.”
Matthew Archer, Site Manager for Sofia Onshore Converter Station said:
“Sofia will be RWE’s most state-of-the-art offshore wind farm yet and a major addition to our growing portfolio of renewable energy assets.”
“Work on the station at Wilton continues at pace, and the arrival of these transformers is an important moment for the project.”
“As ever I’d like to thank the local community for their patience. We’re doing our best to keep disruption down to a minimum at all times. In this instance we expect that there may be some minor disruption to the roads linking Teesport to our Wilton site, with some journey times taking a little longer around mid-morning on affected days.”
Sofia and Dogger Bank C’s contractors GE and Hitachi Energy are currently working on the two projects’ respective onshore converter stations (OCS), that will convert electricity from the two offshore wind farms into a current that will go into the national grid network for distribution to homes and businesses.
The projects are both located on Dogger Bank, more than 195 kilometres from the north-east coast of England, with their export cables coming ashore on Teesside, between Redcar and Marske-by-the-Sea.
Sofia is 100% owned by RWE, and Dogger Bank Wind Farm is a joint venture between SSE Renewables, Equinor and Vårgrønn. Although they are owned by different companies, the developers realised early that it made sense to work jointly on their shared cable corridor, with civil engineering works being carried out by J Murphy & Sons (JMS). Sofia is leading the works on behalf of both projects.
If you’d like to know more about either project, please visit: Sofia Offshore Wind Farm or Dogger Bank Wind Farm
We also provide regular updates on our social media channels @DoggerBankWind and @sofiawindfarm
Delivery dates were correct at the date of issue; however they may be subject to potential change at short notice.
ENDS
