Dogger Bank wind farm off the UK is to use the first unmanned high voltage direct current (HVDC) offshore substation, with a 1200MW capacity.
The 3.6GW project will be the first offshore wind farm in the UK to use HVDC technology to transmit the electricity produced back to shore, minimising losses.
Working closely with platform manufacturer Aibel, the Dogger Bank team designed the offshore HVDC substation to be unmanned, a world first.
Upon first installation in Dogger Bank A during 2023, the project’s HVDC facility will also become the largest-ever at 1.2GW, marking a significant scale up from the previous industry benchmark of 800MW.
Removing the need for personnel to stay on the platform has made it possible to eliminate elements such as the living quarters, helideck and sewage systems, resulting in a 70% reduction in weight, per MW, of the topside compared to previous platforms installed, and cost savings of hundreds of millions of pounds.
Dogger Bank platform manager Jon Kippenes said: “Traditional methods have been effective at transmitting electricity from wind farms that are closer to shore, but with Dogger Bank being so far from shore, we chose to use HVDC as it is much more efficient to transfer electricity over long distances.
“As the first project to do this in the UK we were faced with potentially high costs and uncertainty, but by taking learnings from unmanned installation in oil and gas, and working closely with our supplier we have designed an innovative and safe platform with huge reductions in weight.
“This of course lowers the cost for this project, but also sets a new standard for offshore HVDC platforms.
“The Dogger Bank transmission concept was turned from being the project’s Achilles heel into a competitive edge.”
When complete in 2026 the wind farm will become the biggest in the world, able to produce enough electricity to power around 5% of the UK’s electricity demand. It will be constructed over 130km out to sea, where wind speeds are higher and more consistent than near to the shore.
A joint venture between SSE Renewables, Equinor and Eni, SSE Renewables is leading on the construction and delivery of Dogger Bank Wind Farm. Equinor will operate Dogger Bank Wind Farm on completion for its lifetime of up to 35 years.
Dogger Bank A and B is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Eni (20%). Dogger Bank C is a 50:50 joint venture between SSE Renewables and Equinor.