Dogger Bank wind farm project Paul McQuillan and Roger Birchall of SSE Renewables*
Event details
York Society of Engineers Lecture
* The York Society of Engineers also gratefully acknowledges the assistance provided by Rachel Lawrence, Community Engagement Manager for SSE Renewables, in arranging and coordinating this talk.
At 3.6GW, Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be the world's largest offshore wind farm when completed in 2026, generating enough renewable energy for 6 million UK homes.
The record-breaking wind farm is a joint venture between SSE Renewables, Equinor and ENI. It’s being built in three 1.2GW phases known as Dogger Bank A, B and C. Work is well underway in East Riding of Yorkshire and Teesside to prepare the onshore infrastructure needed to connect the wind farm to the National Grid near Beverley and Redcar, with offshore construction starting later this year.
The offshore construction, more than 130km off the Yorkshire coastline, will involve installation of some of the world's largest and most powerful turbines, as well as the world's first unmanned offshore HVDC convertor platform. This brand-new technology, along with the first use of a HVDC connection for a UK wind farm, is necessary to ensure cost-effective, efficient, and reliable transmission of renewable energy, that is affordable for the consumer.
Arguably one of the greatest engineering challenges to be undertaken in the North Sea, Dogger Bank is setting a new benchmark for the offshore wind industry, with many UK businesses taking advantage of the opportunity to increase their capability and global competitiveness in this rapidly growing market. In fact, more than 3,000 UK jobs are being created or supported in relation to the construction and future operation of the wind farm.
As well as providing a well-timed and much-needed boost to the UK economy, the wind farm is improving lives with its £1 million construction fund. Focusing on East Riding, Teesside, and South Tyneside where the development will locate its Operation and Maintenance Base, Dogger Bank Wind Farm is helping 25,000 young people prepare for life in a net zero world by investing in science, technology, engineering and maths skills.
Representatives from the project will join us for the evening to share their experiences of working on this world-leading programme. The two team members will talk about the importance of understanding the geophysical dynamics of the Dogger Bank seabed and export cable route. They will explore how this supports the consenting and engineering requirements for this mammoth feat of engineering, and how they found evidence that changed our knowledge of the geological history of Dogger Bank. They will move on to the associated engineering and construction challenges and how they are now being addressed in the current delivery phase, in the face of economic and social pressures, while deploying new technology on an unprecedented scale.
Wearing of masks is encouraged (but not mandatory); taking a lateral flow test prior to the meeting (with negative result) is also recommended. There is plenty of space in the lecture theatre for “social distancing”.
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