Dogger Bank wind farm producing power
21 December 2023The Dogger Bank wind farm, with an eventual installed capacity of 3.6 GW, is being constructed in UK waters 70 nautical miles (130 km) off the coast of Yorkshire and in three 1.2 GW phases known as Dogger Bank A, B and C. As of 7 October, power from Dogger Bank A’s first wind turbine was being transmitted to the UK’s national grid via Dogger Bank’s HVDC transmission system, the first use of HVDC for a UK wind farm.
Photo credit: Dogger Bank Wind Farm
The facility employs GE Vernova’s Haliade-X 13 MW wind turbines, with 107 m long blades. This is the first Haliade-X offshore energisation anywhere in the world.
When all three phases of Dogger Bank are fully complete, it will comprise 277 turbines, with a mix of 13 MW and 14 MW machines. A fourth phase, Dogger Bank D, has been proposed.
Dogger Bank is being developed and built by SSE Renewables in a joint venture with Equinor and Va°rgrønn (a joint venture of Eni Plenitude and HitecVision). SSE Renewables is lead operator for development and construction. Equinor will be lead operator of the wind farm on completion for its expected operational life of around 35 years. Va°rgrønn brings specialist offshore wind expertise to the project.
The HVDC voltage source converter technology employed for Dogger Bank is Hitachi Energy’s HVDC Light. Despite disruptions caused by Covid-19, the 1200 MW offshore platform project was “successfully executed in record time of 38 months with the highest safety and quality standards”, says Hitachi Energy.
“The urgent energy transition requires strong collaboration, new business models, and global standards,” said Andreas Berthou, Head of HVDC at Hitachi Energy’s Grid Integration business.
The Dogger Bank connection employs the latest version of HVDC Light technology, providing “the most compact design and the lowest energy losses in the power industry,” claims Hitachi Energy. According to an independent life cycle assessment, implementing this technology will reduce the lifetime CO2 impact by almost two-thirds compared to previously commissioned installations, Hitachi Energy notes.
Hitachi Energy’s total scope of supply includes the design, engineering, procurement, construction and installation of six converter stations, three onshore and three offshore. Aibel AS, with whom Hitachi Energy has a strategic partnership on offshore wind connections, is providing the three offshore platforms which will house the HVDC equipment.
The Dogger Bank HVDC project is an early example of a new business model in the HVDC industry, says Hitachi Energy, “where orders are placed for multiple, similar HVDC systems.” This new approach “allows Hitachi Energy to plan in advance to increase manufacturing capacity, expand and train the workforce, and maximise standardisation to increase synergies between successive projects.”
Hitachi Energy’s scope includes HVDC converter valves, MACH (Modular Advanced Control for HVDC) digital control platform, converter power transformers, high voltage switchgear, as well as system studies, design and engineering, supply, installation supervision and commissioning.
A prototype of the Haliade-X wind turbine has been operating on land in the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands for over three years. The Haliade-X has received independent certification from DNV to operate at up to 14.7 MW as a result of extensive testing conducted on the prototype.
In addition to supplying power to the milestone Dogger Bank wind farm, the Haliade-X will also be used as part of the 800 MW Vineyard Wind project that is on track to become the first utility scale wind farm in the USA and Ocean Wind I in New Jersey.
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