The Anonymous Widower

World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm Produces Power For The First Time

The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from SSE.

These bullet points sum up the press release.

• UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hails Dogger Bank’s role in bolstering energy security, creating jobs, lowering costs, and achieving Net Zero
• First power achieved at UK’s Dogger Bank as the first of 277 turbines installed 130km from UK coast
• Dogger Bank is now connected via HVDC technology to Britain’s national grid and providing renewable power to homes and businesses
• Each rotation of the first turbine’s 107m long Haliade-X blades can produce enough clean energy to power an average home for two days 
• When complete Dogger Bank will deliver clean energy to six million homes annually

I will repeat a highlight of important paragraphs from the press release.

The Size Of The Dogger Bank Wind Farms

When fully complete, Dogger Bank’s world-record-beating 3.6GW capacity will comprise 277 giant offshore turbines capable of producing enough clean energy to power the equivalent of six million homes annually and deliver yearly CO2 savings equivalent to removing 1.5 million cars from the road.

Note.

1. The first 1.2 GW section is scheduled for completion in the next few months.
2. Two more sections of the Dogger Bank wind farm will eventually raise the capacity to 6 GW.

This cluster of wind farms certainly shows what can be achieved with British offshore wind power.

Innovative HVDC Technology

Dogger Bank also marks the first use of HVDC transmission technology to connect a British wind farm to National Grid’s UK energy network. This includes the installation of the world’s first unmanned offshore HVDC substation platform at the site, as well as first use of Hitachi Energy’s HVDC Light® transmission system which was successfully executed in record time of 38 months with the highest safety and quality standards.

Note.

1. HVDC technology appears to be a more efficient way of transmitting energy under the sea and is now generally used for interconnectors.
2. This page on the Hitachi Energy web site is entitled Dogger Bank HVDC Connection and gives a good description of the connection and its advantages.

The HVDC Technology and its installation looks like a real achievement, that can be applied to lots of other offshore wind farms.

XLCC seem to be doing the right thing in building an HVDC cable factory in Scotland. Check out their web site.

October 10, 2023 - Posted by AnonW | Energy | Dogger Bank Wind Farms, Equinor, Hitachi, HVDC Cable, Offshore Wind Power, SSE Renewables, Wind Power, XLCC