The offshore substation topside built for Dogger Bank A has arrived at Aibel’s yard in Haugesund, Norway.
The topside, which is the first of three platforms that Aibel will deliver to the world’s largest offshore wind farm, the 3.6 GW Dogger Bank, was transported from Aibel’s yard in Thailand by BigLift Shipping’s heavy transportation vessel BigLift Baffin .
In Thailand, the topside set several records, including being the largest installation ever moved on Thai soil, according to Aibel.
“It has really been a challenging time with the Covid-pandemic, delays in delivery of material, and finally the war in Ukraine, but the team has managed extremely well and built a topside of supreme quality. Now we must complete the job here in Haugesund and deliver on all parameters to our clients,” said Per Tore Larsen , Project Director for Dogger Bank project in Aibel.
During the stay in Haugesund, the platform will be equipped with transformers, slings, and lifting equipment through several large lifting operations with big and small floating cranes.
Hitachi equipment will be installed on the 40-metre-high structure with the yard’s new tower crane, Aibel said.
Aibel and Hitachi ABB Power Grids are delivering all the offshore grid connections for Dogger Bank Wind Farm, under a contract for the Dogger Bank A and B phases signed in November 2020, and for Dogger Bank C at the beginning of 2021.
Aibel expects to finish most of its work by mechanical completion by late 2022, with commissioning work then remaining to be completed until the expected sailway to the Dogger Bank project, located more than 130 kilometres off the North East Coast of England, in early spring 2023.
Saipem will be responsible for the transportation and installation of the Dogger Bank A and B substations, while Seajacks will support the hook-up and commissioning work on all three phases of the project.
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The platform will receive electricity from 95 Haliade-X 13 MW wind turbines and convert it into 320 kilovolts of direct current, which will then be sent to shore.
Dogger Bank will be the first offshore wind project in the UK to use unmanned High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) technology, which slashes topside weight by 70 per cent, according to the developers.
Once completed, which is expected by March 2026, the offshore wind farm will be able to generate enough renewable electricity to supply five per cent of the UK’s demand, equivalent to powering six million homes.
The massive offshore wind project is being delivered by joint venture partners SSE Renewables, Equinor, and Eni. SSE Renewables is leading on construction and delivery while Equinor will operate the wind farm on completion.
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