17th July 2025 in Community News, Press releases, Project news
- Education pack contains handmade replicas of historical artefacts unearthed during archaeological excavations during construction of Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
- The local education pack includes replicas of a 6,000-year-old flint arrowhead, an Iron Age or Anglo-Saxon glass bead, an Iron Age to Roman bone comb and pottery that is thought to date back more than 2,000 years.
Schoolchildren across East Riding will be able to get their hands on replicas of key historical artefacts that were uncovered during the construction of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, following the launch of a new education pack.
The education pack contains handmade replicas of some of the key findings from 22 excavations, undertaken on the wind farm’s 30km cable route from Ulrome to its onshore convertor stations near Beverley. It includes 3D printed and hand-painted recreations of a 6,000-year-old flint arrowhead that was unearthed near the village of Beeford, an Iron Age or Anglo-Saxon glass bead excavated in Ulrome and an Iron Age to Roman bone comb discovered in Leven.
The Dogger Bank-funded education pack will be managed by the East Riding School Library Service.
Councillor Victoria Aitken, East Riding Council’s cabinet member for children, families and education said:
“The collaboration between education and business is leading a cultural change so children can be trailblazers in their careers.
“This new history pack was officially launched at Molescroft Primary School, where pupils had the opportunity to hear about the construction of the wind farm, and handle the replicas as part of their ongoing work on Anglo Saxons. I look forward to it being rolled out across more schools in the East Riding, and more pupils benefitting from this unique and fascinating education.”
Rachel Lawrence, Stakeholder Engagement Manager for Dogger Bank Wind Farm, said:
“Unearthing the rich history of Holderness has been an unexpected and exciting part of our construction journey.
“Our experts from AOC Archaeology carried out 22 separate excavations along our cable corridor and invested 26,000 hours preserving fragments of local history.
“It’s our privilege to be able to share this information with schoolchildren, as we bring their local history to life in the classroom through our education pack.”
An online exhibition detailing historical finds from the construction of Dogger Bank Wind Farm can be accessed by visiting www.doggerbank.com/archaeology. The online exhibition features an interactive map to explore 22 excavated sites alongside a wealth of information about AOC Archaeology’s wider work in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
10th July 2025 in Community News
Dogger Bank Wind Farm, set to become the world’s largest offshore wind farm, is recruiting a new apprentice to join its team. This new role underscores the wind farm’s commitment to creating a long-lasting positive impact within its local communities.
While Dogger Bank Wind Farm has already recruited apprentices in electrical engineering, wind operations, and logistics, this new position represents a broadening of opportunities. The successful candidate will play a key role in the team responsible for managing and allocating the wind farm’s substantial £25 million community investment fund. This fund supports various local initiatives, projects, and STEM educational programmes in the regions that host the wind farm’s operations, including South Tyneside, East Riding of Yorkshire, and Redcar and Cleveland.
The apprentice will also work closely with the Communications team, developing digital marketing skills, creating content and supporting events.
“We are incredibly proud of the positive relationships we’ve built with our local communities,” said Kay Doragh, Community Investment Manager at Dogger Bank Wind Farm. “Bringing in a Community Investment Apprentice will strengthen our ability to understand and respond to local needs, ensuring our investments create the greatest possible benefit. It’s an exciting opportunity for someone passionate about making a real difference to join our local team.”
The energy sector is bringing huge changes to the North East through the growth of renewables and building of major infrastructure. It’s really important to us that local people feel the benefit of these projects through a well-managed Community Fund and that they know what is going on through effective communications. We are looking for an Apprentice who is excited to make a difference in their community and wants to be a part of getting people involved in these opportunities. If you are interested in people, community and communication, then we want to hear from you.
The apprenticeship will offer hands-on experience in community engagement, grant management, project evaluation, communications, and stakeholder relations. It provides a unique pathway into the renewable energy sector, demonstrating that careers in this growing industry extend beyond traditional engineering roles to encompass vital social and economic development.
Details on how to apply for this exciting new role can be found here.
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.
23rd June 2025 in Press releases, Project news
- Statutory consultation phase launched on 10 June to give communities and other stakeholders a chance to have their say on project proposal for Dogger Bank D.
- In-person events to take place at key locations in East Riding of Yorkshire between 24 and 28 June.
Members of the public are being invited to have their say on plans for a new offshore wind farm project at six in-person events this week.
Dogger Bank D is a proposed project in the North Sea which would be located around 210km off the coast of England. Joint venture developers SSE Renewables and Equinor are inviting community members and stakeholders to have their say on proposals for the project, as part of a Statutory Consultation between 10 June and 5 August.
Six in-person events will be held at the following times and locations:
Skipsea Village Hall, 3pm – 6.30pm.
Leven Sports Hall, 2pm – 7pm.
Cottingham Civic Hall, 10am – 2pm, and Walkington Village Hall 3pm – 6pm.
Toll Gavel Church Hall, Beverley, 10am – 2pm.
Beverley Memorial Hall, 10am – 2pm.
Sophie Large, Senior Project Manager for Dogger Bank D, said:
“We would encourage anyone who’s interested in our proposals to come along to one of our events to speak with a member of our friendly team. At the events you can expect to talk to a team that includes all of the specialisms involved in Dogger Bank D development which ensures that in-depth conversations can take place.
“At this stage of consultation, the proposals presented are not our final application. They reflect input from earlier consultation rounds as well as our preliminary environmental and technical assessments. We encourage the community to come forward to review and share their feedback as local knowledge is invaluable in helping us refine our plans further.
“We’re also excited to share more information on our ideas for building a positive legacy for the project. We’re committed to ensuring that local communities are heard and respected as we develop our proposals to build the energy generation assets that are critical to securing energy security and affordability in a net zero world.”
This latest round of consultation by the developers of Dogger Bank D will outline offshore and onshore proposals, as well as outcomes of preliminary environmental assessments.
The proposals include plans for offshore infrastructure for renewable electricity generation as well as offshore and onshore infrastructure for transmission of the electricity generated by the wind farm.
Out at sea, the project proposes an offshore wind farm array covering a site of 262km2 with up to 113 installed offshore wind turbines. Each turbine would be installed on a fixed bottom foundation.
The offshore application also proposes up to two offshore platforms, as well as associated export and inter-array subsea cabling that would export power from the offshore wind farm to Britain’s national grid at a landfall point near Skipsea, in East Riding of Yorkshire.
From the Skipsea landfall, underground cables would transmit renewable power along a 55-kilometre route to an onshore converter station near to a new onshore substation being developed by National Grid Electricity Transmission near Cottingham, north of Hull, called Birkhill Wood.
The project is also proposing potential plans to co-locate Energy Storage and Balancing Infrastructure at the site of the proposed onshore converter station.
The proposals follow extensive environmental studies and feedback received from earlier stages of engagement.
Feedback from the consultation, which comprises six local in-person events and two online sessions, will be gathered over an eight-week period ahead of the consultation closing on Tuesday 5 August.
Developers SSE Renewables and Equinor will use this feedback to help inform a final application for a Development Consent Order for up to 1.5GW of installed offshore wind capacity at Dogger Bank D.
The delivery of the Dogger Bank D project is subject to it securing a Development Consent Order as well as a final investment decision by partners SSE Renewables and Equinor.
The project team encourages all feedback during the eight-week consultation phase. Feedback will be accepted until 11.59pm on Tuesday 5 August.
All consultation materials including the consultation brochure, maps and feedback forms are now available to view and download at www.doggerbankd.com. Hard copies and alternative versions of consultation documents can also be requested directly from the project team by email or freephone. Alternatively, consultation materials can be viewed or collected from community access points, please check opening hours before visiting. For more information on Dogger Bank D, or how to engage with the consultation, please visit www.doggerbankd.com, call the freephone number on 0800 254 5029, or email contact@doggerbankd.com.
17th June 2025 in Project news
A report examining the rollout of High-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission technology on the world’s largest offshore wind farm in construction has been published by researchers from STEMB university Imperial College London today.
Imperial Business Partners member SSE, and Imperial Partner Hitachi Energy, gave the researchers exclusive access to experts working on the Dogger Bank Wind Farm to author an independent review examining the planning and installation of the wind farm’s three-phase transmission system.
The launch of the report coincides with the start of Renewable UK’s Global Offshore Wind Conference in London today. At the event. Hitachi Energy will host a roundtable session with industry representatives to discuss key themes highlighted by the report’s authors and the Dogger Bank Wind Farm project as a showcase of best practice solutions for future large-scale energy project delivery.
The report is available here: https://www.imperial-consultants.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Dogger-Bank-Final-Report-16-April-2025.pdf
The new report, researched and written by Kaylen Camacho McCluskey and Dr Aidan Rhodes via Imperial Consultants, explores the challenges of planning and executing an HVDC system on an unprecedented scale and draws conclusions about how this technology could help the UK on its journey to net zero.
The authors drew on the experience of representatives from SSE, Hitachi Energy, and Equinor to provide readers with a detailed account of how the system was developed and to outline clear pathways for future developers.
In their conclusions, Kaylen and Aidan presented how best practice from Dogger Bank could be used to steer the UK’s offshore wind industry towards:
- Greater adoption of HVDC technology and projects
- Strong, stable domestic HVDC supply chains
- Resilient, integrated networks
- Long-term, collaborative business partnerships
Dr Aidan Rhodes, report author and Research Fellow for Energy Policy at Imperial College London, said:
“Wind energy is the UK’s richest renewable energy source and with the right infrastructure and planning could form the backbone of a secure, home-grown energy system fit for our Net Zero future.
“Speaking with individuals directly involved in delivering Dogger Bank and its HVDC transmission system, the resilience required to execute a project of this scale, novelty, and complexity became very clear. I think the innovation here lies as much in the obvious technological achievements, like the 1.2 GW offshore converter station, as it does in the deeply collaborative approach.
“It’s been insightful to hear about experiences from the project, to reflect on how the offshore wind industry has evolved since Dogger Bank was first approved, and to consider how these lessons can be leveraged to address some very pressing challenges, grow domestic expertise in HVDC and support the industry on the road to Net Zero.”
Alan Borland, Turbine Director for Dogger Bank Wind Farm, said:
“Designing and building a world-leading wind farm is a hugely challenging and complex process, with an inevitable amount of highs and lows. As wind farms grow in scale, with increasing distances from shore and technology continuing to evolve, we expect these engineering challenges are only going to become greater.
“In a world where we’re all striving towards the same goals, we think it’s important for developers like ourselves to give future pioneers of offshore wind the chance to learn from our successes and challenges.
“The result of our work with academics from Imperial College London is an insightful document that shines a light on the workings of an offshore wind development team and constructive observations about what the future might hold for HVDC in the journey to Net Zero.”
Grant McKay, Regional Sales Manager from Hitachi Energy, said:
“Dogger Bank is a landmark project that offers invaluable insights for future large-scale energy infrastructure developments in the UK and beyond. This report demonstrates that offshore HVDC transmission systems can be built at scale and speed when underpinned by long-term partnerships and a shared commitment to functionality and efficiency.
“The report reaffirms the critical importance of building resilient integrated networks to ensure a stable and secure energy supply. It also underscores the value of collaboration, where aligning capacity, resources, and expertise leads to greater efficiency and better outcomes.
“We’re incredibly proud of how Dogger Bank is positively impacting energy production and resilience, and the report offers essential considerations for stakeholders developing offshore HVDC connections.”
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