Dogger Bank C OFTO

Campaign 2 / Section 1 of the Dogger Bank C export cable installation commenced around 4 August 2024, with cable-laying vessel NKT Victoria reverse-laying the export cable from an in-line joint position. The campaign was confirmed underway by subsequent Weekly Notice of Operations published by the Dogger Bank Wind Farm project.

Official Notice to Mariners from Dogger Bank Wind Farm states that Campaign 1 of the Dogger Bank C export cable installation started on 09 April 2024, with cable‑lay vessel NKT Victoria installing the export cable along the Dogger Bank C offshore export cable corridor.

As part of its Dogger Bank C export cable contract, NKT indicated that manufacturing of the 320 kV HVDC export cables for the project would start from 2022 at its plant in Sweden, ahead of commissioning planned to begin in 2026.

By 26 September 2022, Hitachi Energy had been confirmed as the tier one contractor supplying the HVDC systems for all three phases of Dogger Bank, including the Dogger Bank C offshore and onshore converter stations that connect the wind farm to National Grid at Lackenby near Redcar via HVDC subsea and underground cables.

By 26 September 2022, Hitachi Energy and civil engineering contractor Keltbray had started construction of the Dogger Bank C onshore HVDC converter station on the Sembcorp complex near Lazenby in Teesside, following an official ground‑breaking event attended by project and contractor representatives.

On 26 September 2022, civil engineering specialist Keltbray was awarded contracts for civil works on all three Dogger Bank converter stations, with work starting on the Dogger Bank C onshore converter station at the Sembcorp complex near Lazenby in Teesside, supporting up to 170 UK-based roles at peak construction.

SSE Renewables and Equinor agreed to sell a combined 20% stake in the Dogger Bank C project, including its offshore transmission assets, to Eni, with each company divesting 10%. Announced on 2 November 2021 and expected to complete in Q1 2022 following Dogger Bank C financial close, the transaction resulted in a new ownership structure for Dogger Bank C of SSE Renewables 40%, Equinor 40% and Eni (later referred to as Eni Plenitude) 20%.

Onshore cable installation civil works for the Dogger Bank C HVDC export route began in Q1 2022, starting construction of the onshore cable infrastructure that will connect the Redcar/Marske landfall to the converter station near Lazenby and onward to the National Grid Lackenby substation.

On 1 December 2021, co-sponsors SSE Renewables and Equinor reached financial close on debt financing for the 1.2 GW Dogger Bank C phase, which includes the HVDC offshore transmission system that will later be transferred as the Dogger Bank C OFTO. A consortium of 28 banks and three export credit agencies agreed senior debt facilities of around £2.5 billion plus approximately £435 million of ancillary facilities, with gearing on the generation assets of about 70% and gearing on the transmission facilities set at 90% of the forecast Offshore Electricity Transmission (OFTO) sale proceeds, enabling construction of the export cables and converter stations to proceed.

In conjunction with financial close for Dogger Bank C in December 2021, export credit agencies Bpifrance Assurance Export, EKN (the Swedish export credit agency) and Export Finance Norway (Eksfin) provided export credit support and debt insurance cover to portions of the project finance package, supporting financing of key equipment and infrastructure for the phase, including its HVDC transmission assets that will form the Dogger Bank C OFTO.

In summer 2021, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen and Redcar MP Jacob Young marked the start of site preparation works for the Dogger Bank C onshore HVDC converter station near Lazenby in Teesside, carried out by Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK, initiating civil works for the Dogger Bank C export transmission link.

On 30 June 2021, NKT confirmed it had secured the contract to manufacture, deliver, and install more than 2×250 km of 320 kV HVDC onshore and offshore export power cables and accessories for Dogger Bank C, with its cable‑laying vessel NKT Victoria to perform the installation, subject to the project reaching financial close later in 2021.

NKT confirmed the high-voltage turnkey order for the Dogger Bank C offshore wind farm HVDC export cable system on 30 June 2021, converting the Preferred Supplier Agreement announced in November 2020 into a firm contract award. The order, subject to Dogger Bank C reaching financial close in late 2021, has a contract value of approximately EUR 280 million (EUR 230 million at standard metal prices). The scope covers manufacture and delivery of more than 2x250 km of 320 kV DC offshore export power cables, accessories, and installation by the cable-laying vessel NKT Victoria. The cables are manufactured at NKT's plant in Karlskrona, Sweden, which operates on 100 percent renewable electricity. NKT also delivered the export cable systems for Dogger Bank phases A and B, awarded in 2019.

NKT was named preferred supplier for the Dogger Bank C export cable systems after signing a preferred supplier agreement (PSA) in November 2020, covering the main HVDC export power cable scope for the third phase of the Dogger Bank project.

Planning consent for the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, comprising the three 1.2 GW phases Dogger Bank A, B and C, was granted in 2015. This overarching development consent covers the offshore wind farm and its associated transmission infrastructure, including the Dogger Bank C export cables and converter/substation works that will form the Dogger Bank C OFTO assets.