Offshore

World’s largest offshore wind farm produces power for the first time

World’s largest offshore wind farm produces power for the first time
(Image credit: SSE Renewables)

In what has been hailed as a major project milestone, the UK’s Dogger Bank A offshore wind farm has started producing electricity to power homes in the UK.

Power is now being transmitted from an offshore wind turbine at Dogger Bank A to the UK’s national grid via a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system.

The 3.6 GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm is being built 130 km off the coast of Yorkshire in three 1.2 GW phases known as Dogger Bank A, B, and C.

When all three phases are complete, Dogger Bank will comprise 277 offshore turbines that can produce enough clean energy to power about six million homes annually.

The wind farm is using GE Vernova’s Haliade-X 13MW turbines and according to SSE Renewables, this project marks the first time Haliade-X units have been energized offshore anywhere in the world.

The 260-meter-tall turbines are almost twice the size of the London Eye. Each blade is 107 metres long with each rotation able to produce enough energy to power an average British home for two days.

The Dogger Bank project marks the first use of HVDC technology on a UK wind farm. Hitachi Energy is supplying three HVDC systems to connect the wind farm to the mainland transmission network at Teesside and Creyke Beck. According to Hitachi Energy, using HVDC minimizes power losses and increases reliability in the AC grid due to the flexible and controllable features of the system.

Creyke Beck substation, image credit: National Grid

National Grid has been working to extend the Creyke Beck 400kV substation in Yorkshire in order to accommodate the connection. John Twomey, director of customer connections for National Grid, said that this is a particularly proud moment for their connections and asset operations teams, after working to reinforce the Creyke Beck substation.

Project completion is expected in 2026, at which point Dogger Bank will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm.

Alistair Phillips-Davies, chief executive of SSE commented in a statement: “Dogger Bank will provide a significant boost to UK energy security, affordability and leadership in tackling climate change…But it is also a landmark moment for the global offshore wind industry, with Dogger Bank demonstrating just what can be achieved when policymakers, investors, industry, and communities work together to achieve something truly remarkable.

“The innovations this pioneering project has developed will also mean future developments can be built faster and more efficiently, accelerating the clean energy transition. Now, of course, the challenge is to accelerate the next wave of these projects and we look forward to working with governments to bring these forward as soon as possible.”

The offshore wind project is being developed by SSE Renewables, Equinor, and Vårgrønn (a joint venture of Eni Plenitude and HitecVision).

Originally published by Pamela Largue at Power Engineering International.

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