Developers of Dogger Bank, the world’s biggest offshore wind farm at 3.6GW, have received a grid connection location for the venture’s fourth phase.
National Grid Electricity System Operator (NG-ESO) has offered Birkhill Wood, a proposed new 400kV substation in Yorkshire’s East Riding, to link Dogger Bank’s power into the national backbone. The offer to development partners SSE Renewables and Equinor comes as part of NG-ESO’s Great Grid Upgrade.
Its announcement follows the ESO’s recent publication of its impact assessment of all intended marine turbines in the North Sea’s South Cluster, relating to energy projects needing connections into transmission backbones.
In October the first of Dogger Bank’s 277 turbines began pumping power ashore. Sited at their closest 70 nautical miles off Yorkshire, the four phases are scheduled for completion in 2026.
With the location of a grid connection confirmed, Dogger Bank D will now focus its full attention on connecting to the electrical transmission system.
The project is also exploring the future possibility of the development of Dogger Bank D to be coordinated with an Offshore Hybrid Asset between the UK and another European country’s electricity market to form a multi-purpose interconnector.
This option would increase energy security for the UK and reduce the need to curtail offshore wind output in times of oversupply on the GB network.
The project team are now choosing sites for routing cables, assessing where other land-based infrastructure serving Birkhill Wood’s grid connection may be sited. Community consultations will follow later this year.
With a connection location now confirmed by the ESO, SSE and Equinor have confirmed’s they’re stepping back from their alternative option, namely directing Dogger Bank D’s power towards producing green hydrogen. The duo had presented the clean gas as a possibility when first presenting the project early last year.
Following public consultations last year, the developers intend publishing later this month a project update for Dogger Bank D.
