Foundation installation campaign begins on Dogger Bank B

14 May 2024

The team working on what will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm, Dogger Bank, have started work on the foundation installation campaign for the second phase of the development. Seaway7’s vessels Seaway Strashnov and Seaway Alfa Lift have commenced installation of monopile foundations and transition pieces for the Dogger Bank B phase of the offshore wind farm project. The team recently completed installation of all 95 transition pieces on Dogger Bank A, thus concluding the installation of the foundations for the first phase of the project.

Olly Cass, Dogger Bank Wind Farm Project Director, said:

“These installation milestones are the result of years of commitment and diligence from the project team and its delivery partners. As the world’s largest wind farm of its kind and due to the deployment of new turbine technology, every aspect of the wind farm has required us to come up with new innovative design and engineering solutions that will shape the future construction of offshore wind globally. We extend our thanks and congratulations to the many companies and individuals who’ve risen to this challenge and contributed to the milestone we’re celebrating today.”

Wouter van Dalen, Project Director, Seaway7, said:

“We are happy to welcome Seaway Strashnov back to the project to commence foundation installation on Dogger Bank B – leading on from the vessel’s good performance last year on Dogger Bank A. After introducing our brand-new heavy lift vessel Seaway Alfa Lift to the project in October, the vessel operated through the high weather season installing transition pieces on Dogger Bank A, and now continues this work in phase B. The foundation installation scope is making excellent progress, enabled by our strong collaboration with our client Dogger Bank Wind Farm and our subcontractors.”

The monopile foundations and transition pieces provide a solid and stable base for the scale of GE Vernova’s groundbreaking 13MW Haliade-X turbines. The monopile and transition piece structures were manufactured by Sif and Smulders and are being installed 80-miles off the Yorkshire coast by tier one contractor Seaway7. Monopiles are the large-diameter tube-shaped steel structures that are installed in the seabed by the vessel using dynamic positioning technology. The monopiles weigh in at up to 1,424 tonnes each and can measure up to 72.8 metres in length. The Dogger Bank transition pieces feature a pioneering split-level design to support safe installation and operation and have a record-breaking 8m flange to connect the monopiles and transition piece structures.

Confirmation of this offshore milestone on Dogger Bank B follows on from the successful installation of the offshore HVDC platform for the second phase of the wind farm in April.

A total of 277 monopiles and transition pieces will be installed across all three phases of the wind farm, with completion due in 2026.

Steel manufactured by Tata Steel in Wales and processed in Corby and Hartlepool is being used in the supporting components of the transition pieces, while South Tyneside-based Metec and Rochdale-based Granada Material Handling have also won contracts with Smulders to support this innovative and world-leading project.

Designed in the UK by experts from Wood Thilsted, Dogger Bank Wind Farm’s foundations have been optimised to tackle challenging wave loads in the Dogger Bank area of the North Sea, with installation in water depths of up to 32m and at a minimum distance of 130km from shore.

About Dogger Bank

Dogger Bank, a joint venture between SSE Renewables, Equinor, and Vårgrønn, will consist of 277 wind turbines and produce 3.6GW of offshore renewable energy, enough to power 6 million UK households annually. SSE Renewables is leading on construction and Equinor will operate Dogger Bank upon completion from the Port of Tyne in the North East of England for the planned 35-year operational lifespan of the wind farm. Vårgrønn brings specialist offshore wind expertise to the project.

About SSE Renewables  

SSE Renewables is a leading developer and operator of renewable energy, headquartered in the UK and Ireland, with a growing presence internationally. Part of UK-listed energy infrastructure company SSE plc, its strategy is to lead the transition to a net zero future through the world-class development, construction and operation of cleaner power assets across a diverse mix of renewable technologies. SSE Renewables is investing around £7bn to 2027, or almost £4m a day on average, to support the delivery of SSE’s Net Zero Acceleration Programme to address climate change head on. This includes plans to increase installed renewable energy capacity to around 9GW by 2027.

About Equinor in the UK 

Equinor is a leading broad energy partner to the UK, supplying natural gas from Norway, developing domestic energy resources, and generating low-carbon electricity. Equinor has been operating in the UK for 40 years and aims to reach net zero emissions globally by 2050. Headquartered in Norway, the company employs 22,000 people globally, and over 650 in the UK. Equinor supports the UK economy by investing billions in crucial energy infrastructure, working with over 700 suppliers across the country. Equinor currently powers around 750,000 UK homes through its three operational wind farms; Sheringham Shoal, Dudgeon, and the world’s first floating wind farm, Hywind Scotland. In partnership with SSE Renewables and Vårgrønn, Equinor is building the largest offshore wind farm in the world, Dogger Bank, off the Northeast coast of England, and is maturing its plans to extend both the Dudgeon and Sheringham Shoal wind farms.  It is also a leader in both carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen, developing low-carbon power with carbon capture, hydrogen, and CO2 transport and storage projects in the UK.

About Vårgrønn

Vårgrønn is an agile, Norway-based offshore wind company powering the energy transition through development, construction, operation, and ownership of offshore wind assets. Vårgrønn is a joint venture between the energy company Plenitude (Eni) and the Norwegian energy entrepreneur and investor HitecVision. Vårgrønn currently holds a 20 percent stage in the world’s largest offshore windfarm under construction, Dogger Bank in the UK and has received exclusivity to develop up to 1.9 GW of floating offshore wind in Scotland together with partner Flotation Energy. Vårgrønn is also bidding for floating and bottom-fixed offshore wind projects in Norway together with partners. In the Baltics, Vårgrønn is leading a cooperation with European Energy to prepare for the upcoming auction rounds in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, and in Ireland, Vårgrønn is working together with Energia Renewables to advance offshore wind projects. Vårgrønn targets at least 5 GW of offshore wind in operation or sanctioned by 2030 across Northern Europe.