A single rotation of this wind turbine - twice as tall as the London Eye - can power a home for two days.
ADVERTISEMENTThe world’s largest offshore wind farm under construction has produced its first power.
Dogger Bank wind farm, located in the North Sea off the UK’s Yorkshire coast, has installed the first of a planned 277 turbines.
As of 7 October, it is connected to the UK’s national grid and is providing renewable power to homes and businesses.
When complete and at full capacity, the wind farm will supply 5 per cent of the UK’s electricity demand.
How much energy will Dogger Bank wind farm produce?
Each rotation of the first turbine’s 107-metre-long blades can produce enough clean energy to power an average home for two days.
When complete, Dogger Bank will have a record 3.6 gigawatt capacity. This is more than 2.5 times the current leader, the 165-turbine Hornsea 2, also in England.
It will be capable of delivering clean energy to six million homes annually, resulting in yearly CO2 savings equivalent to removing 1.5 million combustion engine cars from the road.
On completion, the wind farm is expected to be operational for 35 years and will be operated by Equinor, a Norwegian company better known for petroleum refining.
The wind farm will be completed in three stages
The wind farm is being constructed 130 km off England’s northeast coast, where favourable wind conditions and a relatively shallow seabed make it viable.
It will be completed in three phases known as Dogger Bank A, B and C. The developers have also proposed a fourth phase of the wind farm.
Power from Dogger Bank A is now being transmitted to the UK’s national grid via a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system - the first use of such technology on a UK wind farm.
The project is also the first to use Haliade-X 13MW turbines - one of the largest and most powerful in the world - offshore.
“Dogger Bank will provide a significant boost to UK energy security, affordability and leadership in tackling climate change,” said Alistair Phillips-Davies, chief executive of SSE Renewables - the project’s lead developer, in partnership with Norway’s Equinor and Vårgrønn.
“This is exactly how we should be responding to the energy crisis,” he added in a statement.
The mega-project is expected to bring long-term jobs, economic growth and energy security to nearby South Tyneside and beyond. It is expected to be completed by 2026.
How big are Dogger Bank’s wind turbines?
Dogger Bank’s 260-metre-tall turbines are almost twice the height of the London Eye and the same height as New York’s Rockefeller Centre.
When complete, the giant wind farm will take up an area almost the size of Greater London, making it the world’s largest of its kind. It will be operated and maintained by nearly 400 employees.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has faced sharp criticism in recent weeks for rolling back green initiatives, has hailed the news as a success.
ADVERTISEMENT“It’s fantastic to see the world’s largest wind farm, Dogger Bank, generating power for the first time today from UK waters, which will not only bolster our energy security, but create jobs, lower electricity bills and keep us on track for Net Zero,” he said.
