ABB has been selected by energy companies SSE Renewables of the UK and Equinor of Norway to supply its high-voltage direct current (HVDC) Light converter systems to connect the world’s largest offshore wind farms in the Dogger Bank area of the North Sea to the UK transmission network, increasing current wind offshore capacity by 3.6 GW. It is one of ABB’s biggest ever contracts.
In the first ever use of the HVDC technology in the UK’s offshore wind market, ABB will supply technology with one of the smallest environmental footprints, due to what the company says is the most compact station design combined with the lowest energy losses in the power industry. ABB will supply the HVDC Light converter systems, while Aibel will deliver two HVDC offshore converter platforms. In 2016, ABB and Aibel announced their partnership on the design, engineering and optimisation of offshore wind connections.
Paul Cooley, director of Capital Projects at SSE Renewables, commented: “Dogger Bank is truly a world-leading project, pushing new boundaries in the provision of ground-breaking technology to deliver low-carbon energy generation to help achieve the UK’s net zero ambition by 2050.”
The Dogger Bank development consists of three wind farm projects – Creyke Beck A and B, and Teesside A. It will significantly contribute towards the UK government’s goals of sourcing up to a third of its electricity from offshore wind by 2030. ABB has been awarded contracts for Creyke Beck A and Creyke Beck B.
According to the International Energy Agency, global offshore wind capacity could increase 15-fold and attract around $1 trillion of cumulative investment by 2040. This is driven by increased competitiveness, supportive government policies and some remarkable technological progress.
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