GE Renewable Energy announced today that they have 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 Offshore Wind Farm. The contract is expected to support approximately 90 local jobs including Electrical and Mechanical Technicians, Supervision and Project Management who will execute the installation, testing and commissioning works, including HV cable connection and VLF testing, associated with the pre-assembly of the three tower sections and nacelles.
The mechanical and electrical engineering work will be done at Able Seaton Port, the Dogger Bank offshore 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 Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which is set to conclude in 2026.
GE started preparing the marshalling harbour at the end of 2022 and began receiving the initial components for the wind farm in January of 2023.
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 of 2022 that it has selected Mammoet UK, based in Thornaby Teesside, to supply onshore heavy lifting and transport for the staging and assembly of turbine components for the Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is located over 130 km off the north-east coast of England and each phase will be able to produce 6TWh of renewable electricity, totaling 18TWh annually, when complete in 2026, equivalent to powering approximately the equivalent of six million UK homes each year or around 5% of the UK’s electricity demand. Due to its size and scale, the site is being built in three consecutive phases: Dogger Bank A, Dogger Bank B and Dogger Bank C.
The project is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Vårgrønn (20%).
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.”
Dogger Bank Wind Farm
The 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm when completed in 2026.?
It is being built in three 1.2GW phases: Dogger Bank A, B and C.?
The project 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.?
Financial Close on Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B was reached in November 2020, with Financial Close for Dogger Bank C reached in December 2021. Taken in aggregate, reaching Financial Close on all three phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm is the largest offshore wind project financing to date globally.?
Consent for Dogger Bank Wind Farm was granted in 2015.?
Each of the three phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm secured 15-year CfD contracts for 1.2GW of low carbon power production in the UK’s third CfD Allocation Round, announced September 2019.?
In May 2021, Dogger Bank Wind Farm took another major step forward after passing a required delivery milestone under the UK’s Contracts for Difference scheme for low carbon power.
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is located in the North Sea, with each phase more than 130km from the Yorkshire Coast.
Onshore construction began in 2020 and is currently underway for Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B, while offshore construction on Dogger Bank C began in Spring 2022. First power is expected in Summer 2023 and Summer 2024 for Dogger Bank A and B, respectively, with commercial operations to follow around 6 months later.
Onshore cable installation civils works for Dogger Bank C started in Q1 2022, with construction of the onshore convertor station to commence later this year. Offshore export cable installation will commence in Q1 2024 with offshore platform installation to commence in Q2 2024.
Foundation installation on Dogger Bank C will commence in Q3 2024 while turbine installation will commence in Q2 2025. First power is anticipated in Q3 2025 and full power in Q1 2026.
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is fully committed to supporting the UK offshore wind supply chain. To date we estimate more than 2,000 UK roles have been created or supported in relation to the construction and operation of the wind farm.
470 jobs are expected to be recruited by GE Renewable Energy across the northeast of England in support of the delivery and operation of all three phases of the project. These will be made up of around 300 skilled roles for turbine installation and commissioning activities and 170 servicing roles at Port of Tyne under GE’s five-year Service and Warranty Agreements for Dogger Bank phases A, B and C once operational.?
At least a further 30 roles will be hired by Equinor as operator of the wind farm, based at the Port of Tyne or offshore.
170 new full-time UK-based jobs will be created by North Star Renewables in crewing and shore-based roles for the operation of the service fleet for Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
Up to 100 peak construction jobs will be created by Jones Bros. Civil Engineering, one of the UK’s leading civil engineering contractors, on the installation of onshore cable infrastructure for Dogger Bank A and B.?
Dogger Bank A and B has confirmed GE’s Haliade-X 13MW as the turbine powering the first two phases of the project. As the first order for the Haliade-X 13MW, installation at Dogger Bank A will be the first time the turbine is installed in the world.
Installation of GE’s upscaled Haliade-X 14MW turbine at Dogger Bank C will be the first time the 14MW turbine is installed in the world.
One rotation of the Haliade-X turbine blades can power one UK home for more than two days.
The wind turbines will be installed on monopile foundations.?
Dogger Bank will be the first High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) connected wind farm in the UK. Due to its distance from shore, it introduces new transmission systems to the UK, paving the way for other large offshore wind farms.
Around 10,000 people, including world leaders, have signed their name on a Dogger Bank turbine as a symbol of their support for climate action. The names will appear on one of the first turbines to be installed on the wind farm from 2023.
For more information about Dogger Bank Wind Farm visit www.doggerbank.com?
