11th May 2023 in Operations, Project news, Supply Chain
Dogger Bank Wind Farm’s tier one contractor Hitachi Energy is currently scheduled to begin transporting the latest electricity transformers, for the project’s second phase Dogger Bank B, from Hull to the project’s East Riding convertor station site near Cottingham from June 4.
Like last year’s deliveries during the project’s first phase, the transformers will travel from Albert Dock, Hull via the A63, A1034 and the A1079. The size of the transformers requires the use of abnormal load vehicles. There will be four deliveries anticipated on the mornings of 4 June and 11, 18 and June, with each delivery taking between 6-8 hours, dependent on the conditions. Further updates will be provided by the project as necessary
Rachel Lawrence, Community Engagement Manager for Dogger Bank Wind Farm, said:
“We were extremely grateful for the patience of communities in this area during our first round of deliveries last year and while our contractor will again do everything it can to minimise disruption during these latest deliveries, it is possible some journey times may be slightly longer than normal, and we would ask the public for their understanding as we carry out this critical work.”
The transformers will be delivered on specialist girder frame trailers provided by UK firm Allelys. The trucks will be around 70 metres long and 5 metres wide and will travel at approximately 10 -15 miles per hour. To support the delivery the team has worked with contractors and local highway officials from East Riding of Yorkshire Council to carefully plan the route and minimise disruption to road users.
The specialist girder frame trailer will have a police escort to help manage traffic and make the process as smooth and safe as possible. Along the route, there may be a pause from time to time as the specialist trailer lowers its suspension to safely pass under bridges.
Overview of the route:
The delivery convoy consisting of the abnormal load vehicle, police and support vehicles will leave the Albert Dock in Hull and make its way westbound, along the A63 to join the A1034 at South Cave heading north. The convoy will then join the A1079 at Market Weighton, heading east until the outskirts of Beverley, where the vehicle will turn south remaining on the A1079 and is expected to arrive at the convertor station site entrance, located between Beverley and Cottingham in the afternoon on the specified dates.
The transformers will play an integral role in the operation of two onshore convertor stations in East Riding of Yorkshire that are currently under construction at the A1079 site between Beverley and Cottingham. Eventually they will convert the current from the wind farm for transmission via the national grid network to millions of UK homes after the renewable energy has made its way under the ground from the landfall point at Ulrome, between Bridlington and Hornsea.
ENDS
Picture caption: Allelys will deliver transformers to the Dogger Bank Wind Farm convertor station site.
5th May 2023 in Community News, Press releases
Last night East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Dogger Bank Wind Farm took home the award in the Renewable Education Category at the Humber Renewables Awards for their ambitious and innovative East Riding Dogger Bank Primary Programme.
The programme is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, enabled by the construction of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, to invest in a unique partnership of local education networks, national teacher’s continued professional development providers and industry, to create a lasting legacy of excellence in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education and careers from ages three to eleven.
The project offers a tailored range of opportunities for all 124 primary schools in the East Riding of Yorkshire and aims to connect learning in schools to the jobs and opportunities of the future. The partnership was formed to counteract the subtle, but powerful messages around job and career aspirations which children form at a very young age. The programme is delivered in partnership with specialist providers, Complete Careers, Stem Learning and PSQM (Primary Science Quality Mark), who underpin and support professional development for teachers.
The Dogger Bank Primary Programme has been received with great enthusiasm by schools, teachers and pupils and the partnership is proud to have been shortlisted. Over a three-year period, all 124 primary schools in the East Riding of Yorkshire can benefit from the programme in a way that supports their school individually. There are three strands in the programme: increasing the skills knowledge and expertise of teachers engaged in STEM in early years; to recognise quality in the science offer across all ages; and embedding of careers education in the primary curriculum. Schools can draw upon national providers, meet specialist teachers in the field and work with industry partners. All three strands benefit not just the teachers and pupils, but also families and the local community.
Community investment Manager for Dogger Bank Wind Farm, Lindsay Dougan, said:
“I’m really proud to be celebrating with our partners who brought our programme to life. This programme is ground-breaking and it has taken trust, dedication and passion to bring this unique approach to fruition. Our programme has been carefully designed to foster and nurture schools to achieve a “learn it, see it, be it” ethos around STEM and career aspirations.
“By allowing each school to tailor their own programme, more children will be able to see themselves in STEM careers and ultimately become the talent needed to take the UK to Net Zero.”
Sara Fletcher education and skills partnership manager East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said:
“The scale and ambition of the East Riding Dogger Bank Primary Programme will support and impact the entire region, embedding career discussions and activities in primaries to help young people understand the breadth of opportunities available. We know from our experience engaging with local schools how keen young people are to challenge themselves to live sustainable lives. That’s why we want this programme to lead towards a cultural change so our young people can be trailblazers in STEM and their careers.”
Dogger Bank Wind Farm, is being built off the East Coast in three 1.2GW phases : Dogger Bank A, B and C. It is a joint venture partnership between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Vårgrønn (20%). 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.
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is investing £1m in its key communities during the construction of this wind farm and working with education providers to help young people to unlock their future potential through enhanced science, technology, engineering and maths provision. The Dogger Bank team has worked with local education providers in East Riding of Yorkshire, Redcar & Cleveland and South Tyneside to create a bespoke legacy for the wind farm that addresses the specific educational needs of each community.
The wind farm is currently under construction more than 130km off the coast in the North Sea, and is expected to start generating power in the summer.
The Humber Renewable Awards celebrate the region’s commitment to green energy, honouring organisations large and small at the forefront of the UK’s zero-carbon emissions.
About East Riding of Yorkshire Council
East Riding of Yorkshire Council is a local government organisation providing a range of services to East Riding residents including Council Tax billing, libraries, social services, processing planning applications, waste collection and disposal, and it is a local education authority. The councils’ education and schools, improvement and learning service which is the key service involved in this submission.
In the East Riding and beyond in South Tyneside and Redcar and Cleveland, the Dogger Bank Wind Farm education partnerships are inspiring children and young people for a working life in a net-zero world. Within the East Riding during the construction of the wind farm, a unique partnership of local education networks, national CPD providers and The Dogger Bank Wind Farm aims to increase and expand the knowledge of children in STEM and the jobs of the future.
About the delivery partners
Complete Careers is a Licensed Awarding Body for the National Quality in Careers Standard, using the Career Mark method; assessing excellence in careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) provision, following the changes in relation to the Quality in Careers Standard in March 2017.
The Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM) is a school improvement programme that transforms primary schools and communities – growing confident leaders and teachers of science, building children’s attainment and aspiration in science, and shaping the culture of a primary school into a place where every child, teacher and family believes that ‘science is for them’. PSQM is based at the University of Hertfordshire and the programme is delivered to over 600 UK and international schools each year. www.psqm.org.uk
STEM Learning is a non-profit organisation dedicated to raising young people’s engagement and achievement in STEM. It is the largest UK provider of STEM education and careers support to schools, colleges and community groups working with young people. Visit www.stem.org.uk @STEMLearningUK
20th April 2023 in Construction, Project news
- Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be first UK High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) connected offshore wind farm
- 70% reduction in topside weight per MW for offshore platforms
Construction of what will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm, Dogger Bank, has reached another milestone with the installation of the world’s first unmanned High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) offshore substation.
The substation is the first of three platforms, supplied by Aibel, to be installed at Dogger Bank, which is being constructed in three 1.2GW phases known as A, B and C.
The Dogger Bank A platform measures 65 x 36 metres across and 39 metres high and sits on a four-legged steel jacket foundation structure which is fixed to the seabed, at a water depth of around 28m.
Approximately 146km from the nearest point of land at Flamborough Head, near Bridlington in East Riding of Yorkshire, the platform installation was delivered by principal contractor Sapiem.
The innovative offshore platform has a lean design and is the first unmanned HVDC platform which will be operated from shore and accessed only by a Service Operations Vessel. The platform will receive 1.2GW of AC power from Dogger Bank A’s 95 offshore wind turbines and convert it to DC, which will then be sent ashore to an onshore convertor station near Beverley in East Riding of Yorkshire.
Fitted with Hitachi Energy’s latest generation HVDC converter technology, Dogger Bank will be the first offshore wind project in the UK to use this technology to transmit the electricity produced back to shore, ensuring that the electricity is transmitted efficiently over long distances while minimising losses.
Olly Cass, Project Director for Dogger Bank Wind Farm, said:
“The safe and successful installation of the offshore platform marks a major milestone in the Dogger Bank project. As the UK’s first HVDC platform for an offshore windfarm it is also a major milestone for the UK industry more widely.
“The platform will be controlled from shore and by removing the need for personnel to stay on the platform meant it has been possible to eliminate elements such as the living quarters, helideck and sewage systems, resulting in a 70% reduction in weight (per megawatt) of the topside compared to previous platforms installed, and cost savings of hundreds of millions of pounds.
“Teams continue to make good progress with the installation of turbine foundations and later in Q2 specialist cable installation and support vessels will start to install the inter-array network of cables that will connect the turbines to the offshore platform to enable transmission of first power in the summer.”
Dogger Bank Wind Farm, a joint venture between SSE Renewables, Equinor, and Vårgrønn, is set to be the world’s largest offshore wind farm consisting of 277 wind turbines. The wind farm will be capable of of generating 3.6GW of renewable energy which is enough clean and sustainable electricity to power more than 6 million homes.
Ends
18th April 2023 in Community News, Operations, Press releases, Project news, Supply Chain
Dogger Bank Wind Farm has partnered with Newcastle art gallery Gallagher & Turner to invest in local artwork which is being displayed permanently at the Operations and Maintenance Base in Port of Tyne.
- Major investment in local creative industry
- Over 30 pieces will be displayed
- All works to be displayed are by North East artists
- Employees invited to select the type of works to be displayed
The partnership represents a major investment in the local creative industry with over 30 pieces to be displayed, all by artists from North East England.
Clare Turner, Partner, Gallagher & Turner said: “The request to provide art for the Dogger Bank Operations and Maintenance base was an amazing opportunity for us to be able to assemble a portfolio of unique pieces by artists who work in the region. We immediately felt creatives whose practice relates to the local environment, the narratives of the Tyne, the North Sea coast, its history and the unique power of the landscape of the North East, were going to connect best with all our shared environmental concerns. We were also delighted to be asked to work with an organisation that is making a profound effort to connect with the local area commercially as well as visually by supporting a small independent art gallery.”
Employees at the O&M base helped select the type of works to be displayed, ensuring that the pieces would be enjoyed and appreciated by staff working at the state-of-the-art facility. Among the many artists featured, art works include a new Ringed Plover painted commission by Paul Henery, and Crispian Heath will be creating two new large scale glass commissions.
“Over the last thirty years we have been enthusiastic to run an exciting programme of continually changing exhibitions and with a pool of local talent to draw on we were able to propose a selection of original pieces for the building. We had some great involvement and feedback from the staff who were excited to see our proposals and going forward we are hopeful they will be continually inspired by these artworks” added Clare.
Dogger Bank Wind Farm plans to continue the partnership with Gallagher & Turner with a yearly Purchase Prize for art students at Sunderland and Newcastle Universities for the next 4 years, with the selected works to be displayed at the facility. Together, they also plan to commission three original murals to be displayed, working with the local community, South Tyneside Council and Foundation Press.
Felicity Wann, Operations Leader at Dogger Bank Wind Farm, said: “We wanted our new O&M base to reflect the Dogger Bank strategy of investing in the local community, as well as giving employees the opportunity to shape the O&M base and really make it their own. By investing in art by local artists we have been able to do both these things. Working with a fantastic local gallery, who guided us throughout and ensured we have a cohesive collection, reflecting the Dogger Bank environmental focus and the landscapes of North East England, has made the whole process a joy.”
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Vårgrønn (20%). SSE Renewables is lead operator for the development and construction of Dogger Bank Wind Farm. Equinor will be lead operator of the wind farm on completion for its expected operational life of around 35 years.
The wind farm, which will generate 3.6 GW of capacity, is being built in three 1.2 GW phases, named Dogger Bank A, B & C, and will be able to power the equivalent of 6 million UK homes on completion.
Picture caption: North East artists visit Dogger Bank Wind Farm Operations and Maintenance Base. From Left to Right: Rosie Morris and Clare Turner (Gallagher & Turner), Rhiannon Robinson, Paul Henery, Lily Senner, Alex Charrington, Jill Campbell, Mark Halliday (Dogger Bank Wind Farm), Crispian Heath, and Felicity Wann and Tom Nightingale (Dogger Bank Wind Farm).
6th April 2023 in Community News, Press releases
As part of its ongoing commitment to supporting local communities and enhancing the local environment, Dogger Bank Wind Farm has donated 60 bird boxes to schools across East Riding of Yorkshire during the project’s construction phase.
The nest boxes, complete with a supply of bird food for one season and 10 with cameras to enable enhanced learning, have been strategically placed around the schools’ grounds and are designed to provide safe and secure nesting sites for a variety of bird species, including blue tits, sparrows, and other common garden birds.
Students will have the opportunity to observe the wildlife and learn more about their behaviours and habitats. By providing these new homes, the project also hopes to encourage the local bird population and promote biodiversity.
Westfield Primary School in Cottingham, one of the ten schools allocated with a camera nest box, is currently in the process of setting up a monitoring team to capture and share activity inside the box, offering students opportunities for hands-on learning and engaging in real-world issues. Over the last few year the school caretaker has helped to develop an outdoor learning space, including building areas for nature to thrive – the bird boxes provide a tangible way to see the positive impact they can have on the environment.
Science Coordinator at Westfield Primary School, Mrs Bailey, said:
“’Westfield are very grateful for the bird box and camera. It would be fantastic if birds’ nest inside – what an amazing experience it would be for the children.”
The project has been met with enthusiasm by both students and staff alike. Students at Westfield were shown the live feed direct from the nest box and said:
“We are really excited about seeing the birds going in and out of the box and to see if any eggs will hatch.”
The bird boxes will be erected over Easter and placed outside their year 2 classroom.
Rachel Lawrence, Community Engagement Manager for Dogger Bank Wind Farm, said:
“We’re delighted to be able to offer these nest boxes to East Riding schools to enhance their learning, and as part of our commitment to protect and enhance wildlife during the construction of the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
“Dogger Bank Wind Farm is investing £1 million in science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) education during the construction of the wind farm, and we hope this donation will further enhance this STEM learning by enabling children to experience wildlife conservation in their school environment.”
Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be located more than 130 km off the Yorkshire coast and will generate enough renewable energy to power six million UK homes. A joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Vårgrønn (20%). SSE Renewables is leading on Dogger Bank construction and delivery while Equinor will operate the wind farm on completion.
The wind farm is being built in three phases known as Dogger Bank A, B and C. Dogger Bank A and B will connect the national electricity network between Beverley and Cottingham in East Riding, while Dogger Bank C will connect to the network at Lackenby in the Tees Valley.
Work to install more than 80 miles of underground high voltage cables from our landfall site at Ulrome, south of Bridlington, to our onshore convertor station near Beverley was in completed in late 2022, with some minor works ongoing at the converter station and landfall.
Work continues on the construction of our two East Riding convertor stations, as well as the installation of cables from the convertor station to the National Grid substation at Creyke Beck.
The first phase of the wind farm will start to produce power for UK homes and businesses this summer, with all three phases due to reach full power by 2026.
In June 2021, the wind farm unveiled plans for a £1 million construction fund across its key communities to help young people prepare for a Net Zero world, with all 124 East Riding primary schools being given an opportunity to increase and expand their STEM provision. The programme includes a significant investment in science, technology, engineering and maths provision, university scholarships as well as an operators fund to support local causes.
Picture caption: Westfield Primary School students Lily Austin (left), William Palmer (right) pictured with Dogger Bank Wind Farm donated nest box.
