Dogger Bank, which will eventually become the world’s largest offshore wind farm, is getting an $8 billion investment from Norwegian oil giant Equinor and British energy company SSE. The money will be used to construct the first two phases of the project.
SSE Renewables is leading the construction of the 3.6 GW project, and Equinor will lead on the wind farm’s operations.
With the strong interest from lenders, Dogger Bank A and B were able to secure competitive terms, despite unprecedented economic circumstances arising from the global coronavirus pandemic. The final group of lenders, comprising 29 banks and three export credit agencies, includes experienced lenders in the sector along with relationship lenders of both SSE and Equinor.
The three-phase project will include construction of a total of 3.6 gigawatts of capacity in the British North Sea, (1.2 GW per phase) and will power 6 million UK homes when it is fully operational, or 5% of UK power demand. Reuters writes:
The first phase, of 1.2 GW, is expected to start operations in 2023, with the second following about a year later. Each phase will generate around 6 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity annually.
A third phase is planned for completion by 2026.
Dogger Bank will be the first to feature the 13MW General Electric (GE) Haliade-X, the largest wind turbine in the world. One rotation of the Haliade-X can power a British home for two days. (No wonder Jim Cramer thought GE — what he called a “Biden stock” — was a good bet.)
Dogger Bank will boost the British government’s goal to quadruple the UK’s current offshore wind capacity to 40 GW by 2030.
It also helps both SSE and Equinor fulfill their own climate targets. Equinor aims to be net zero by 2050, as Electrek reported on November 3.
Pål Eitrheim, Equinor’s executive vice president of New Energy Solutions, said:
Equinor is committed to being a leading company in the energy transition and to helping the UK government deliver on its 10-point plan for a green industrial future.
Photo: GE
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Author: Michelle Lewis
Source: Electrek
