Aibel cuts steel for Dogger Bank C offshore platform

Aibel has started the construction of the offshore converter platform for the third phase of the 3.6 GW Dogger Bank offshore wind farm – Dogger Bank C.

The first steel for the platform was cut at Aibel’s Laem Chabang yard in Thailand. In keeping with the tradition, the steel was blessed by Thai monks prior to the first cut, Aibel said.

In October 2019, Aibel was selected to deliver two platforms for the 2.4 GW Dogger Bank A and B phases, with an option for one more for the 1.2 GW Dogger Bank C.

The contract for the first two platforms was signed in November 2020 as the wind farm’s developers SSE Renewables and Equinor reached financial close for the first two phases. The contract for Dogger Bank C was signed following the financal close for the final phase in December 2021.

Aibel is working together with Hitachi Energy to deliver all the offshore grid connections for Dogger Bank Wind Farm, as Hitachi Energy has now been contracted to install high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) technology to connect the transmission links on all three phases of the 3.6 GW offshore wind farm.

The Dogger Bank A platform is expected to arrive in Haugesund, Norway in the first half of 2022, where it will be outfitted with Hitachi Energy’s HVDC converter technology, including final completion and commissioning. It will be ready for sail away to the Dogger Bank field in 2023, and final completion later that year.

The delivery of Dogger Bank B platform is scheduled for 2024, while Dogger Bank C is scheduled for 2025.

Dogger Bank A and B will feature 190 GE Renewable Energy’s Haliade-X 13 MW turbines, scheduled to deliver the first electricity in 2023. On Dogger Bank C, the developers opted for the 14 MW version of GE’s Haliade-X model.