8th July 2025 in Uncategorised
Schoolchildren from West Yorkshire helped to improve marine ecosystems in the North Sea, by releasing juvenile lobsters during their school residential trip to Whitby.
After visiting the Marine Discovery Centre to learn about Whitby Lobster Hatchery’s work protecting lobster populations and supporting a healthy marine habitat, year 5 pupils from Brockholes C of E school in Huddersfield headed to the beach to release 700 tiny lobsters into the rock pools.
Hatchery experts were joined by representatives from Dogger Bank Wind Farm, who talked to the children about how they’re working collaboratively with other users of the North Sea, to help marine life to flourish.
Aiming to release 100,000 juvenile lobsters back into the sea, the team at Whitby Lobster Hatchery is committed to ensuring the seas are sustainable and rich in diversity for years to come.
Operating under the charity name of North Sea Conservation, the team has ambitions to provide the best opportunity for the coastline to remain healthy and productive. Working alongside its potting fleet which boasts the 3rd largest catches in Europe, the fishing community bring ‘berried’ egg bearing female lobsters into the hatchery.
When the eggs hatch the hatchery team then provides everything the tiny lobster larvae need to give them the best chance to survive. After around 8 weeks of care in the hatchery the juvenile lobsters are released back into the sea.
The Marine Discovery Centre (on Whitby’s Peir Road), aims to provide a unique visitor experience, showcasing native marine biodiversity and providing a great opportunity for young and old to learn about fisheries, marine wildlife and the work of the Whitby Lobster Hatchery.
Whitby Lobster Hatchery General Manager, Joe Redfern, said:
“It was a fantastic day, we really enjoyed giving these young people the chance to release juvenile lobsters. They really seemed to enjoy it and hopefully they made some lasting memories.”
“We are extremely grateful for the generous support we receive from Dogger Bank Farm, we really wouldn’t be able to do what we do without them.”
Pupils from Brockholes C of E school, said:
“ We had an amazing experience releasing our new friends into the sea.
“It was great to know that we have helped support a species for years to come!”
The wind farm has supported the lobster hatchery since its initial launch, and has continued its support for the charity with contributions to both the hatchery and the marine discovery centre.
Rachel Lawrence, Community Engagement Manager for Dogger Bank Wind Farm, said:
“It was a great privilege for us to be part of this release of juvenile lobsters, and wonderful for the children to be able to enhance the marine environment during their school residential.
“Working in harmony with nature and coastal communities is vital to the success of our world-leading renewable energy project, which is set to power 6 million UK homes by 2027.
“Dogger Bank Wind Farm is a proud supporter of Whitby Lobster Hatchery, and its vital conservation, education and research activities on the Yorkshire coast.”
Find out more about how Dogger Bank Wind Farm is supporting Whitby Lobster Hatchery here.
27th March 2025 in Uncategorised
Dogger Bank Wind Farm has submitted a request to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to amend the wording in its Development Consent Order, to allow for phases A and B of the project to progress separately through the OFTO sales process. As part of this application and in line with the Planning Act 2008, we have now opened a formal period of consultation with stakeholders on the proposed wording amendments.
Further details of this process are available in the Reg 6 notice below.
Doggerbank Offshore Wind Farm Project 1 Projco Limited and Doggerbank Offshore Wind Farm Project 2 Projco Limited at No. 1 Forbury Place 43 Forbury Road, Reading, United Kingdom, RG1 3JH.
- Email contact is possible by contacting:
DoggerBankConsentsConsultations@sse.com.
- The application documents and details of the changes proposed by this NMC Application are available for inspection, free of charge, at the “Documents” tab on the National Infrastructure Planning Portal’s Dogger Bank Creyke Beck page here:
https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/EN010021
- For general enquiries on how to obtain any of the documents or on the information contained within them, please contact Dorothee Neun at the Applicant (neun@sse.com or 0141 224 7248).
- A free digital copy of the application documents can also be obtained from the Applicant using the contact details provided above. This will be available until the deadline for responses set out below closes. Alternatively, a paper copy can be obtained from the Applicant for a charge of £300.
- Please send any representations about the application by email to the Planning Inspectorate at:
dbcreykebeck@planninginspectorate.gov.uk
or in writing to:
Major Applications & Plans, The Planning Inspectorate, Temple Quay House, 2 The Square Temple Quay, Bristol BS1 6PN.
Please quote ‘Dogger Bank Creyke Beck’ on any correspondence. Any representations received by the Secretary of State in response to the consultation will be published on the Planning Inspectorate’s Infrastructure Planning Portal (https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/) with all personal information removed.
- The deadline for receipt of representations is 23:59 on 5 May 2025.
Doggerbank Offshore Wind Farm Project 1 Projco Limited and Doggerbank Offshore Wind Farm Project 2 Projco Limited
27th June 2023 in Community News, Press releases, Uncategorised
A fine art student from Northumberland will have her art displayed at our operation and maintenance base in Port of Tyne after winning the Dogger Bank Wind Farm purchase prize.
Britney Fraser, from Widdrington, in Northumberland, draws upon her family’s mining heritage and working class culture in her work. ‘Alreet’ and ‘Howay’ are part of her final year degree show and part of a series of pieces featuring regional words, also including ‘canny’ and ‘divvnt’ in her family’s handwriting on traditional ‘proggy’ mats made from recycled textiles. Her art highlights untold, overlooked, and undervalued stories from Northumberland’s working communities by transforming materials associated with manual labour into sculptural elevations of trade workers.
“My art is all about work,” says Britney.
“So I’m really happy that something so grounded in the North East and in its working-class communities will go on show at Dogger Bank Wind farm’s offices where people will see it every day.”
Felicity Wann, Operations Leader at Dogger Bank Wind Farm, said:
“We are delighted to present the Dogger Bank Purchase Prize Award to Britney for her inspiring artwork, which honours the North-East of England. We are excited to display Britney’s ‘Howay’ and ‘Alreet’ artworks in the entrance to our Operations and Maintenance base located at The Port of Tyne, giving employees and visitors the chance to view the pieces every time they enter the base. At Dogger Bank Wind Farm, it is our strategy to invest into the local community, so it is fantastic for the winning art pieces to have come from a student from Northumberland in the North-East of England.”
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is working with Newcastle art gallery Gallagher and Turner on the purchase prize for the next four years, with a yearly purchase prize for art students at Newcastle and Sunderland Universities. Selected works will be displayed at the Wind Farm’s Operations and Maintenance base.
You can see Britney’s artworks at the Fine Art Degree Show which reopens in Space Liverpool from 28 June to 1 July.
27th March 2023 in Project news, Supply Chain, Uncategorised
- Work involves mechanical and electrical activities for the pre-assembly of the towers and nacelles
- Award supports 90 local jobs associated with multi-year effort to install, test, and commission Dogger Bank Wind Farm
GE Renewable Energy has selected Eastgate Engineering, based in Billingham, Teesside, to provide mechanical and electrical activities for the pre-assembly of the towers and nacelles for the Haliade-X turbines to be used at Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
The contract is expected to support approximately 90 local jobs including electrical and mechanical technicians, supervision and project management.
The mechanical and electrical engineering work will be done at Able Seaton Port, the Dogger Bank Wind Farm marshalling harbour. The work began in January 2023 and is expected to continue throughout all three phases of the pre-assembly of the wind farm, which is set to conclude in 2026.
Dogger Bank Wind Farm Commercial Director Simon Bailey, said:
“Eastgate Engineering is a very welcome addition to our Dogger Bank Wind Farm supply chain, as they help us prepare for turbine installation later this year. The Billingham-based company is one of a number of firms in the north-east bringing expertise to our world-leading project, which is supporting more than 2,000 UK-based roles during construction and operation.”
Nathan Fahey, GE Project Director for the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, said:
“We are pleased to announce that we have selected Eastgate Engineering to provide mechanical and electrical engineering support for the Dogger Bank Offshore Wind farm. They have the expertise and strong local presence we are looking for in the companies we are engaging to support this project. This award is another in a series of contracts with companies in the Teesside area that will both support and create jobs today and well into the future.”
David Brennan, Managing Director of Eastgate Engineering, said:
“Eastgate Engineering is delighted to work in close partnership with GE to deliver the world’s largest offshore wind farm. Our highly skilled, locally based workforce is excited to support such a historic project with such an important role to play in bringing more clean, renewable offshore wind online in the UK.”
GE announced in December 2022 it had selected Mammoet UK, based in Thornaby Teesside, to supply onshore heavy lifting and transport for the staging and assembly of turbine components for Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
2nd December 2021 in Construction, Press releases, Project news, Uncategorised
Joint venture partners SSE Renewables and Equinor have reached financial close on Dogger Bank Wind Farm C, the third phase of what will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm when complete in March 2026.
SSE Renewables and Equinor are already constructing the first two phases of the 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm with Eni, joint venture partner on phases A and B of the world-leading offshore wind project to be installed off the north east coast of England. Now, with financial close being reached on the project’s third phase, Dogger Bank Wind Farm has passed the last important milestone ahead of its construction delivery programme.
Total investment in Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be around £9 billion, of which around £3 billion is for phase C including offshore transmission capex in the range of £900-1000m.
Dogger Bank C has a capacity of 1,200MW and will generate around 6TWh. In total, Dogger Bank will produce enough clean, renewable electricity to supply 5% of the UK’s demand, equivalent to powering six million UK homes.
Dogger Bank A and B is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Eni (20%). On 2 November 2021 SSE and Equinor announced the sell down of a combined 20% share in Dogger Bank C to Eni (10% each) for a total consideration of £140m. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2022, subject to regulatory and lenders approvals and customary purchase price adjustments. Eni will enter the asset effective from completion of the sell down transaction. Once the transaction is complete, the new overall shareholding in Dogger Bank C will be SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Eni (20%). Extended partner alignment will enable further synergies across, both in the construction and operations phase of the Dogger Bank wind farm.
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is pioneering new technology and breaking world records in its delivery including green financing records. Financial close on Dogger Bank C has been reached through the financing support of a group of lenders comprising 28 banks and three export credit agencies (ECAs). Taken in aggregate with the financing last year of the A and B phases of the Dogger Bank project, reaching Financial Close on all three phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm is the largest offshore wind project financing to date globally.
Alistair Phillips-Davies, SSE Chief Executive, said: “It is a fantastic achievement to be reaching financial close on the third phase of the world’s largest offshore wind project, just weeks after COP26 concluded in Glasgow and today marks an important early milestone in the delivery of our own Net Zero Acceleration Programme. Our plans will enable delivery of over 25% of UK’s 2030 40GW offshore wind target, whilst also expanding overseas, delivering over 20% of upcoming UK electricity networks investment and deploying the critical flexibility technologies to provide security of supply.
“Construction is well underway on the first two phases of Dogger Bank with work on the third phase already progressing and we look forward to this ramping up in the New Year. As well as providing clean, green power, Dogger Bank is enabling the planned GE blade manufacturing plant in Teesside and a huge number of direct and indirect jobs.”
Pål Eitrheim, Equinor EVP of New Energy Solutions, said: “Reaching financial close on the third phase of Dogger Bank is a significant milestone as it demonstrates that we are on track with developing what will become the world’s largest offshore wind farm. The extensive interest from lenders underpins the attractiveness of UK offshore wind assets and the confidence in SSE and Equinor as developers. The level of interest achieved reflects the quality of the project and enables strong return on equity. As the wind farm’s future operator, we will leverage our offshore execution capability and continue to deliver value for years to come.”
Dogger Bank C is being project financed with gearing of c.70% for the generation assets. Gearing on the transmission facilities is set at 90% of the forecast OFTO sale proceeds, in line with standard market practice in the sector. Total senior debt facilities is around £2.5 billion plus ancillary facilities of around £435 million.
With the strong interest from lenders, Dogger Bank C was able to secure competitive terms, despite continued impact from the coronavirus pandemic on the macroeconomic environment. The final group of lenders includes experienced lenders, many of which are relationship lenders of both SSE and Equinor. The majority of lenders are the same as for the financing of Dogger Bank A and B, reached in November 2020. A list of Dogger Bank C lenders, ECA and Advisors is available to download here.
SSE Renewables is leading on the development and construction of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, and Equinor will operate the wind farm on completion for its expected operational life of around 35 years.
About Dogger Bank Wind Farm
Dogger Bank Wind Farm was awarded exclusive development rights in 2010 by The Crown Estate as part of its third seabed licensing round. The project secured planning consent in 2015. In September 2019, Dogger Bank Wind Farm secured the following 15-year contracts with the Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC) through the UK Government’s Contract for Difference (CfD) auction:
- Dogger Bank A (1,200MW) with a strike price of £39.65/MWh (in 2012 prices, CPI-indexed) for delivery in 2023/24.
- Dogger Bank B and C (1,200MW each) with strike prices of £41.61/MWh (in 2012 prices, CPI-indexed) for delivery in 2024/25.
Onshore cable installation civils works for Dogger Bank C will start in Q1 2022; construction of the onshore convertor station will commence in Q2 2022. Offshore export cable installation will commence in Q1 2024; Offshore platform installation will commence in Q2, 2024; foundation installation will commence in Q3, 2024; Turbine installation will commence in Q2, 2025. First power is anticipated in Q3, 2025 and full power in Q1, 2026.
Onshore construction is currently underway for Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B, with offshore construction on Dogger Bank A due to begin in Q2 2022. First power is expected in Summer 2023 and Summer 2024 for Dogger Bank A and B, respectively, with commercial operations to follow around six months later.
