Aibel, Hitachi ABB ink Dogger Bank C OWF contracts

Aibel and Hitachi ABB Power Grids have been awarded contracts for the third phase of the 3.6 GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm development, Dogger Bank C.

Under an EPC contract, Aibel will deliver a third converter platform for the world’s largest offshore wind farm. In October 2019, the company 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 developers SSE Renewables and Equinor reached financial close for the first two phases. Financial close for Dogger Bank C is expected to be reached in the fourth quarter of this year.

Aibel will work together with Hitachi ABB Power Grids to deliver all the offshore grid connections for Dogger Bank Wind Farm, as Hitachi ABB Power Grids 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 offshore wind farm.

Due to the distance of each of the Dogger Bank phases from shore, with the turbines being installed between 130 and 200 kilometres offshore, this will be the first HVDC connected wind farm in the UK. Hitachi ABB Power Grids said it would install its HVDC Light® technology for efficient transmission to the project’s onshore grid connections, which are located in the East Riding of Yorkshire for Dogger Bank A and B, and on Teesside for Dogger Bank C. 

“Together with our partner Hitachi ABB Power Grids, our skilled engineers have developed integrated solutions and established an efficient supply chain for our deliveries. We are proud to see that our concept wins in a very competitive environment”, said Nils Arne Hatleskog, Executive Vice President for Field Development and Offshore Wind in Aibel.

Dogger Bank Wind Farm project is headed from Aibel in Haugesund, Norway, while the platform’s topsides are under construction at Aibel’s yard in Thailand.

The Dogger Bank A platform is expected to arrive in Haugesund in the first half of 2022, where it will be outfitted with Hitachi ABB Power Grids’ 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 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 recently opted for the 14 MW version of GE’s Haliade-X model.