Once Equinor's Dogger Bank wind farm is put into operation, it is expected to become the world's largest offshore wind farm. Its operation and maintenance will be constructed in accordance with the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) net-zero carbon building framework.

Located in Port Tyne, the facility will be equipped with solar panels, provide employees with on-site renewable energy power generation and electric vehicle (EV) charging points, and will be constructed using low-carbon materials that meet the UKGBC energy efficiency classification. An internal carbon price was also introduced. Price considerations are evaluated along with the market cost of the material, which enables the design team to strengthen the financial case for selecting low-carbon materials.

Halfdan Brustad, vice president of Equinor in charge of the Dogger Bank wind farm, said: With the ability to generate electricity for millions of households, the construction of the Dogger Bank wind farm is unprecedented in the offshore wind power field. This project will make a real contribution to the decarbonization of our power system and help the UK achieve its net zero emissions goal. "This modern and attractive facility will support more than 200 people working directly at Dogger Bank and become a proud base for the team working on the world's largest offshore wind farm in the center of the Northeast."

construction process

The UKGBC frame has two brackets-one for building construction and the other for operation. Equinor has confirmed that the O&M base will be certified for these two applications. CB Richard Ellis will work with the project team to assist in material selection and carbon accounting. Yunweidi was designed by the international design firm Ryder Architects.

The construction of the base is planned for later in 2021 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2022, after which the wind farm will begin operation in 2023. Approximately 200 people will operate and maintain Doug Bank there or at sea. The bank will be able to generate about 5% of the UK's electricity and will be located more than 130 kilometers from the sea. The wind farm has confirmed the use of “ultra-low emission” jack-up ships to install turbines, and the service operation ships used during operation will be equipped with hybrid battery systems to reduce emissions.

At the end of 2020, Dogger Bank’s two phases of financing have been confirmed, with capital expenditures reaching approximately £6 billion, making it the world’s largest offshore wind power project financing. The two companies behind the Dogger Bank wind farm, SSE Renewables and Equinor, confirmed that the first two phases of the project will each require a total capital expenditure of approximately £3 billion, including approximately £800 million in offshore transmission capital expenditures for each phase.

Dogger Bank with a capacity of 3.6GW will become the world's largest offshore wind farm. It consists of three 1.2GW stages, and construction of the Dogger Bank wind farm will begin in January 2020. Dogger Bank has signed a 15-year contract with the Low Carbon Contract Corporation (LCCC) through the UK government’s Contract for Difference (CfD) auction. This was achieved in September 2019, when the execution price of the auction hit a record low. Therefore, the execution price of Dogger Bank A is 39.65 GBP/MWh, while the execution price of Phase B and C is 41.61 GBP/MWh.

Keywords: new energy, overseas engineering, international engineering construction, foreign engineering construction news

The government’s goal is to double the amount of renewable energy purchased through its CfD program, with a goal of 12 GW of wind and solar energy.Editor/XuNing