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
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.”
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.
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/
18th December 2023 in Community News
Powering the Future: South Tyneside and Beyond!, a programme by South Tyneside Council and Dogger Bank Wind Farm, has been nominated for two prestigious awards in the Engineer’s 2023 Collaborate to Innovate Awards.
The programme aims to inspire and engage year 4 and 5 students, aged between 8 to 10, in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects while also preparing them for the career opportunities provided by the renewable energy sector. In the programme, Year 4 and 5 students from South Tyneside and beyond have been challenged to create a renewable energy invention using movement and wind.
The programme has been nominated for the Young Innovator award, following an invention idea from Nine-year-old Isaac, from Cleadon, who created ‘Wind Mirrors’, a creation which uses propellors attached to vehicle wing mirrors to generate renewable electricity. The programme has also been nominated in the category for best STEM Initiative.
“We are thrilled to be nominated for two Collaborate to Innovate Awards,” said Tom Nightingale, Stakeholder Manager at Dogger Bank Wind Farm. “Through this programme, we have been able to showcase careers and opportunities in the renewable energy sector to the next generation. We are proud of the innovative ideas submitted in the programme, and are amazed to see creative ideas from local young people address real world energy problems.”
Councillor Jane Carter, Lead Member for Education and Skills, said: “It’s never too early to raise the awareness of the skills needed for the jobs of the future.
“This innovative project also helped us to engage and nurture the creative talents of our young people while also raising their aspirations about the careers they can go on to enjoy in the renewable energy sector.”
The Engineer’s Collaborate to Innovate Awards aim to celebrate the best in collaborative innovation across various sectors. The awards commend projects that demonstrate collaboration between different organizations, academic institutions, and industry leaders. The winners of the awards will be announced at a ceremony held on Thursday 29th February 2024 in London.
For more information about the South Powering the Future initiative, visit https://southtyneside.littleinventors.org/
Image caption: Wind Mirrors, by Isaac from Cleadon, North East England
