Dogger Bank C is part of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm Project in south-east England which will have a total capacity of 3.6GW upon its completion in 2026
A prototype of GE Renewables Haliade-X wind turbine, Credit: GE Renewables website
SSE Renewables and Equinor, joint builders of British wind farm Dogger Bank C have confirmed that they will be installing GE Renewables’ 14MW Haliade-X wind turbines during the final phase of the wind farm’s construction. The two companies have also signed a deal to get GE Renewables to provide maintenance and warranty of the turbines. GE Renewables will be constructing 87 Haliade-X wind turbines for the project, which are one of the biggest in the industry: each turbine has a tip height of 260 metres, a blade length of 107 metres and a 220-metre rotor. With a capacity of 1.2GW, Dogger Bank C is part of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm and along with Dogger Bank A and B, the total capacity of this giant wind farm will stand at 3.6GW.
The Dogger Bank wind farm has been described as the world’s largest offshore wind project and is a joint venture between SSE Renewables, Equinor with Eni holding minority stake in Dogger Bank A and B. SSE Renewables will be responsible for construction and delivery of the entire project while Equinor (otherwise known as a oil and gas giant) will oversee operations. Dogger Bank C’s turbines are expected to be installed in 2025 and the entire project is slated for operations by 2026. GE Renewables has projected the creation of 470 new jobs in order to run and maintain the massive wind farm. Once operational, the Dogger Bank wind farm is expected to power millions of British households.
Along with GE Renewables, Vestas has also displayed the capacity to build mega wind turbines. Early this year in February, the energy company stated its plans to develop a 15MW wind turbine. In addition to these two is Siemens Gamesa, which has been developing a 14MW model known as the SG 14-222 DD with an extendable capacity of up to 15GW.
In the past few years, the UK has begun to take wind energy seriously with the result that it is now home to a mature offshore wind sector. The British government has announced plans to expand current wind energy capacity to 40GW by the end of this decade. The European Union has set itself a target of 300GW in offshore wind capacity by 2050.
