Latest news : Uncategorised

Newcastle University fine art student wins Dogger Bank purchase prize

27th June 2023 in Community News, Press releases, Uncategorised

Newcastle University Fine Art Student, Britney Fraser, with her Alreet’ and ‘Howay' artwork.

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.

GE Renewable Energy selects Eastgate Engineering to support Dogger Bank Wind Farm project

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. 

DOGGER BANK C REACHES FINANCIAL CLOSE

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.

Seaway 7 ASA to transport and install turbine foundations for Dogger Bank C

12th November 2021 in Press releases, Project news, Supply Chain, Uncategorised

Dogger Bank Wind Farm has awarded the contract for the transport and installation of monopile foundations and transition pieces on the third phase of what will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm to Seaway 7 ASA.

The contract award is subject to Dogger Bank C reaching Financial Close by the end of 2021.

The 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which is to be built more than 130km off the Yorkshire coast in the North Sea, is currently being developed in three 1.2GW phases: Dogger Bank A, B and C.

Seaway 7 ASA has already been appointed the foundation installation contract for both Dogger Bank A and B. Under this latest contract, Seaway 7 ASA will utilise its specialist Heavy Lift Vessel Alfa Lift, which is set to be the world’s largest and most efficient custom-built offshore wind foundation vessel. Installation by the company of offshore foundations on the 1.2GW Dogger Bank C of will commence in 2024 following the foundation installation of the Dogger Bank A and B phases.

Stuart Fitzgerald, Chief Executive Officer of Seaway 7, said:

“We are pleased to now have been awarded the work to install foundations on all three phases of the world’s largest offshore wind farm.  We look forward to executing the work with quality and safety at the forefront and to working closely with our customer to deliver on the project objectives.”

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

“It’s great to be able to confirm that Seaway 7 has been awarded this contract. The Alfa Lift is one of the most innovative heavy transportation and installation vessels on the market and we are very pleased to have them working with us across all three phases as we deliver this ground-breaking project.”

Dogger Bank A and B is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Eni (20%). In November 2021 SSE Renewables and Equinor, 50:50 joint venture partners in Dogger Bank C, announced Eni will take a 20% stake in the final phase, with SSE Renewables and Equinor maintaining 40% stakes each. The deal is expected to complete in Q1 2022, subject to Dogger Bank C Financial Close and regulatory approvals.

SSE Renewables is leading on the development and construction of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, and Equinor will operate the wind farm on completion. 

-Ends-

SSE urges public to sign their names on the world’s largest offshore wind farm in COP26 call to action

6th October 2021 in Press releases, Project news, Uncategorised

GE Haliade X turbine
  • Names will adorn the Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the North Sea off the Yorkshire coast as legacy of COP26.
  • UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and COP26 President Alok Sharma among the first to sign up.
  • Signatures represent a show of support for world leaders to commit to more ambitious climate action at COP.

SSE, one of the UK’s largest low-carbon power firms and a Principal Partner of COP26, is inviting those who want to see an ambitious climate action agreed at COP26 to show their support by putting their names on the world’s largest offshore wind farm – with UK Prime Minister and COP26 President Alok Sharma among the first to sign up.

The switch to clean energy is vital if the world is to heed the IPCC’s recent ‘code red for humanity’, and, as the biggest single source of offshore power in the world, Dogger Bank Wind Farm is a symbol of the change needed globally.

SSE, with its joint venture partners Equinor and Eni, is offering world leaders and the general public alike a unique opportunity to be part of history with their names on Dogger Bank’s powerful turbines as a poignant symbol of the need for more urgent action and as a legacy of COP26.

The giant wind farm demonstrates how clear Government policy and private sector investment can drive the transition from carbon-intensive to clean power. Just one turn of a Dogger Bank turbine, three times bigger than the London Eye, will be enough to power a British home for two days.

With just 25 days to COP26, the UK public are being encouraged to throw their weight behind the need for ambitious global climate action to limit warming to 1.5 degrees.

The Prime Minister and COP26 President have today signed up to having their names added to the wind farm and will be encouraging world leaders to join them at COP26.

COP26 President-Designate Alok Sharma said:  

“The impacts of climate change can be seen around the world and COP26 is the last best hope for the world to come together and take action to protect the future of our planet.

“Dogger Bank has been developed by a UK business with international partners, manufactured on Teesside and employing thousands of UK workers, with its 3.6GW of wind energy set to power six million homes. Adding your name to this symbolic project ahead of COP26 is a great way to show support and leave a legacy.”

Across the country, people have already been doing their bit to drive change, from small individual actions to big businesses investing in infrastructure and technology to drive a cleaner, greener future.

SSE is investing £7.5bn in low-carbon projects to support the UK’s decarbonisation plans and is a proud partner to COP26.

Alistair Phillips-Davies, SSE Chief Executive, said:

“Tackling the climate emergency requires everyone to play their part – from world leaders to governments to big businesses to communities to individuals. What we are building at Dogger Bank is representative of what can be done when government, business and the public pull together to power change.

“We want to send a clear signal ahead of COP26 that the writing is on the wall for climate change – literally in this sense – and by lending their name to Dogger Bank, anyone who cares about climate action can make their voice heard and create a lasting legacy.

“When we look back in decades to come, we want to say this was the moment the wind changed, with the demand from the public for an ambitious COP26 agreement helping avert the worst of global warming.”

Climate leaders from across the globe will be invited to add their name and lend their support for greater climate action by signing the turbine at COP26 itself in Glasgow.

Join the clamour for climate action and add your name to the world’s largest offshore wind farm now. The wind farm is currently under construction off the Yorkshire Coast with first power due in summer 2023. SSE Renewables is leading the development and construction phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm and Equinor will lead on operations for its lifetime of up to 35 years.

GE Renewable Energy secured contracts to provide its Haliade-X turbines for all three phases of the wind farm and is building a brand new, state-of-the-art factory in the north east, made possible by the major Dogger Bank contracts, creating hundreds of green jobs.

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

“The north and north east of England are at the heart of building a low-carbon future and you can make your mark on history, alongside the Prime Minister and COP 26 President, by adding your name to this record-beating project. 

“We’re delighted to offer this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of a fitting legacy of a pivotal moment in time, where we make the switch to a more sustainable world for future generations.”

 Ends 

Picture caption: SSE, with its joint venture partners Equinor and Eni, is offering world leaders and the general public a unique opportunity to be part of history with their names on Dogger Bank’s powerful turbines as a poignant symbol of the need for more urgent action and as a legacy of COP26. Picture source: GE Renewable Energy.