Equinor, SSE order 13 MW turbines for world’s largest offshore wind farm

Dogger Bank Wind Farm, a 50:50 joint venture between SSE Renewables and Equinor, has signed a contract with GE Renewable Energy for 190 wind turbines for the Dogger Bank A & B offshore wind project.

Dogger Bank A & B will be the world’s first offshore wind farm to use GE’s Haliade-X 13 MW turbines, an enhanced version of GE’s Haliade-X 12 MW model, with each of the two project phases to feature 95 units.

This represents the largest single order ever for offshore wind turbines, according to Dogger Bank Wind Farm.

Along with the turbine supply contract, GE Renewable Energy and the developer have also signed a five-year Service & Warranty agreement for operational support for the wind turbines.

As part of the agreements, which are subject to the financial close on the project expected to be reached later this year, GE Renewable Energy will establish its marshaling harbour activities at Able Seaton Port in Hartlepool.

Turbine installation is expected to commence in 2023 at Dogger Bank A and, as reported earlier, Jan De Nul’s jack-up installation vessel Voltaire will be deployed for this work.

The uprated 13 MW Haliade-X will feature a 220-metre rotor and 107-metre long blades, just like the 12 MW turbine.

The 12 MW prototype that has been operating in Rotterdam since November 2019 will start operating at 13 MW in the coming months as part of its ongoing testing and certification process, GE Renewable Energy said.

Dogger Bank A & B are the first two phases of what will become the world’s biggest offshore wind farm. The project, located over 130 kilometres off England’s north-east coast, is being built in three consecutive phases: Dogger Bank A, Dogger Bank B, and Dogger Bank C.

Each 1.2 GW phase is expected to generate around 6 TWh of electricity annually and the entire project will be capable of powering up to 4.5 UK million homes each year once fully completed in 2026. Together, they can provide approximately 5% of the UK’s estimated electricity generation, according to the developer.