Giant Jack-Up Voltaire Soon to Install First Turbines at World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm

Wind Farm Update

August 3, 2023, by Adnan Memija

The campaign to install the first turbines at the 3.6 GW Dogger Bank offshore wind farm is underway, with Jan De Nul’s Voltaire jack-up vessel leaving the Able Seaton Port with the first batch of wind turbines and heading to the offshore construction site about 130 kilometres off the east coast of Yorkshire, the UK.

Dogger Bank wind turbine installation campaign underway — Dogger Bank Wind Farm

At Dogger Bank Wind Farm, Voltaire will be transporting and installing a total of 277 GE Haliade-X turbines for all three of the project’s phases.

Jan De Nul signed a contract to install offshore wind turbines at Dogger Bank A & B in 2020 and the following year secured the same work for Dogger Bank C.

Work to install the first 260-metre wind turbine is expected to begin at the weekend.

The wind turbine components started arriving at Able Seaton Port, the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm marshalling harbour, in January this year.

Mammoet UK, is responsible for onshore heavy lifting and transport for the staging and assembly of turbine components, under a contract the company signed with GE last year. Teesside-based company Eastgate Engineering will do the mechanical and electrical work for the pre-assembly of the towers and nacelles for the Dogger Bank Wind Farm offshore wind turbines.

The commencement of the campaign to install GE Renewable Energy’s 13 MW Haliade-X turbines, is a pivotal moment for the landmark project, said SSE Renewables, the company that is building the world’s largest offshore wind farm together with its partners, Equinor and Vårgrønn.

Dogger Bank A & B will comprise a total of 190 Haliade-X 13 MW turbines, while phase C will feature 87 Haliade-X 14 MW turbines.

“Our progress here with our joint venture partners Equinor and Vårgrønn proves that offshore wind projects of this size are now mainstream and will help turbocharge the transition to the cheaper, cleaner and more secure energy system we all want to see“, said Alistair Phillips-Davies, SSE CEO.

“It is action, not ambition, that will secure our energy future and this project shows action on a massive scale. But we will need many more Dogger Banks to achieve our goals and we look forward to working with government to bring forward more projects at pace.”

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The project has created and supported more than 2,000 jobs, principally in the North East of England. SSE Renewables is the lead operator for the development and construction of the wind farm, while Equinor will be the lead operator once the project is completed in 2026 for its expected operational life of around 35 years.

“We’re delighted to soon begin operating Dogger Bank from our new O&M base at the Port of Tyne, which will host 400 jobs over the 35-year lifetime of the wind farm. We look forward to seeing the 277 turbines installed safely over the next three years, generating green electricity at scale and powering millions of British homes“, said Pål Eitrheim, Equinor EVP Renewables.

Offshore construction started last year at the Dogger Bank A site, where 95 monopile foundations are being installed.

Dogger Bank has delivered a number of world-firsts that will accelerate the speed at which future offshore projects can be developed, said SSE.

These include the deployment of new 13 MW and 14 MW wind turbine technology, the world’s first unmanned offshore High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) substation platform, and the first use of HVDC technology on a UK wind farm.