Dogger Bank B OFTO

Following completion of cable ducting and horizontal directional drilling works, installation of the HVDC underground export cables for Dogger Bank A and B in East Riding of Yorkshire, forming part of the Dogger Bank B OFTO onshore transmission route, commenced in summer 2023 using the prepared ducting system.

By the time of the Powersystems update, nearly 73 miles of HVDC underground cables weighing around 3,500 tonnes had been safely installed in East Riding of Yorkshire, marking completion of the HVDC cable installation for the onshore export route that will transmit power from Dogger Bank A and B, including the Dogger Bank B OFTO assets, towards the UK grid.

Hitachi ABB Power Grids confirmed to supply HVDC Light technology for all three phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, including offshore and onshore converter stations.

Dogger Bank Wind Farm owners SSE Renewables and Equinor reached financial close on phases A and B on 26 November 2020, representing the largest offshore wind project financing to date globally. Each 1.2 GW phase requires total capital expenditure of around GBP 3 billion, including offshore transmission capex of approximately GBP 800 million per phase. The total senior debt facilities across both phases is GBP 4.8 billion plus ancillary facilities of around GBP 0.7 billion, secured from 29 banks and three export credit agencies (Bpifrance, EKN Sweden, GIEK Norway). Gearing on the transmission facilities is set at 90 percent of forecast OFTO sale proceeds. The project secured 15-year CfD contracts at GBP 41.61/MWh (2012 prices) for Dogger Bank B.

NKT was confirmed as the HVDC export cable supplier for all three phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, including Phase B, at financial close on 26 November 2020. NKT designed, manufactured and installed the HVDC power cable systems for Dogger Bank, making it the first HVDC-connected offshore wind farm in the UK. The scope for each 1.2 GW phase covers 320 kV DC offshore and onshore export cables connecting the offshore converter station to the onshore converter station near Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire. NKT manufactures the cables at its high-voltage factory in Karlskrona, Sweden.

On 28 May 2020, the Dogger Bank project companies opened a public consultation on the draft Decommissioning Programme for Dogger Bank A and B, prepared under Requirement 10 of the Dogger Bank Creyke Beck Offshore Wind Farm Order 2015. In line with guidance from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the draft programme—covering how the wind farms and associated offshore infrastructure, including transmission assets, will be decommissioned—was made available for comment until 26 June 2020, with responses invited via the project email address.

On 21 May 2020, the Dogger Bank project companies submitted planning applications to East Riding of Yorkshire Council for 12 minor amendments to the already consented onshore cable corridor serving Dogger Bank A and B. These applications sought additional planning consent for refined onshore cable routing outside the original Order Limits, covering export cable works that will be incorporated into the Dogger Bank B OFTO transmission link between the landfall at Ulrome and the Creyke Beck substation.

Onshore construction for the Dogger Bank A and B HVDC export cable corridor, which includes the Dogger Bank B OFTO onshore transmission link to Creyke Beck substation, began in January 2020 when Jones Bros Civil Engineering broke ground near Ulrome in East Riding of Yorkshire to start civil works for the underground cables.

In 2015, Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which includes the 1.2 GW Dogger Bank B phase and its offshore transmission connection to shore, was granted consent as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project under the UK planning regime. This consent provides the overarching development approval for constructing the three Dogger Bank phases and their associated infrastructure, including the offshore export cables and grid connection works relevant to the future Dogger Bank B OFTO link.