Dogger Bank Wind Farm and its delivery partners have completed the installation of the HVDC offshore substation platform at Dogger Bank C – marking a major milestone for the project.
It means installation of the offshore substations is now complete on all three phases of Dogger Bank, the world’s largest offshore wind farm under construction.
Manufactured and supplied by Aibel and installed by Heerema Marine Contractors’ Sleipnir vessel (pictured), the Dogger Bank C platform measures approximately 75 metres by 50 metres across and 36 metres high.
It sits on a four-legged steel jacket foundation structure which is fixed to the seabed, at an average water depth of around 23 metres.
The installation of the Dogger Bank C offshore substation topside onto the platform jacket comes a week after the jacket was installed by Heerema’s Sleipnir vessel.
Dogger Bank project director Olly Cass said: “The installation of our third offshore substation platform marks a significant leap on our journey to delivering renewable energy for around 6 million UK homes annually once the wind farm is complete.
“Our strong partnership with Aibel, Hitachi Energy and our installation partners, with Heerema installing this third platform, has been key to the seamless completion and handover of these three pioneering structures.
“This is a significant moment for the project team, our delivery partners and for the UK’s clean energy transition.”
The Aibel platform was the first unmanned HVDC platform to be installed in 2023, when it was delivered for the Dogger Bank A phase. The substations are designed to be operated from shore and accessed only by a service operations vessel.
Further commissioning activities will now be carried out on the platform to prepare it for future transmission of renewable energy.
Fitted with Hitachi Energy’s HVDC converter technology, Dogger Bank is the first offshore wind project in the UK to use this technology to transmit the electricity produced back to shore, ensuring the electricity is transmitted efficiently over long distances while minimising losses.
Each of the three platforms will be capable of receiving 1.2GW of AC power generated by Dogger Bank’s offshore wind turbines and converting that renewable energy to DC, before sending that clean power ashore to three onshore convertor stations, near Beverley in East Riding, Yorkshire, and near Redcar on Teesside.
Martijn Kuipers, project director for Dogger Bank C at Heerema, said: “Completing the installation of the Dogger Bank C offshore substation platform marks a proud milestone for Heerema.
“The thorough preparations and seamless collaboration between Sleipnir’s skilled crew, our project team, Dogger Bank Wind Farm and our subcontractors, enabled us to safely and successfully install the jacket and topside.
“This achievement reflects Heerema’s commitment to delivering complex offshore projects with precision and innovation, and we are proud to contribute to the UK’s energy transition.”
The 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the North Sea will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm when completed in 2027. The project is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Vårgrønn.