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The offices of Norwegian energy major Equinor were pictured in February 2019. Equinor, alongside SSE, is part of a 50/50 joint venture to develop the Dogger Bank wind farm.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
A major offshore wind farm, expected to be the largest on the planet, took another leap forward Thursday with SSE Renewables and Equinor announcing an agreement to fund the project.
When completed, the Dogger Bank wind farm in Britain – a 50/50 joint venture between the two companies – will have a total capacity of 3.6 gigawatts (GW).
The first two phases, Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B, will be built simultaneously, each with a capacity of 1.2 GW.
The third phase of the project, Dogger Bank C, is under development on a different schedule, with financial close expected towards the end of 2021.
In a statement, SSE said the funding for the first two phases of the project represented “the largest offshore wind project funding ever in the world.” The investment for Dogger Bank A and B will be around £ 6bn (around $ 8bn), he added.
According to the website for the Dogger Bank project, which will be located in the waters off England’s north-east coast, the latest group of lenders is made up of 29 banks and three export credit agencies. SSE Renewables is leading the construction of the facility, while its operations will be led by Equinor.
The scale of the overall project, which is due to end in 2026, is considerable. Equinor and SSE have described it as “the world’s largest offshore wind farm”.
Phases A and B will use GE’s 13-megawatt Haliade-X wind turbine, while the wind farm as a whole will have the capacity to power up to 4.5 million UK homes each year. Onshore construction work for the project began earlier this year.
Pål Eitrheim, Equinor’s executive vice president for new energy solutions, described the conclusion of financial close for the first two phases as “a milestone”.
SSE Managing Director Alistair Philips-Davies said the investment “will contribute to a green recovery from the coronavirus through construction of the project over the next five years, creating jobs and boosting the local economy”.
Last month British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he wanted the country to become the “world leader in low-cost clean energy production”.
Speaking at the Conservative Party’s annual conference, which took place virtually, Johnson stressed the importance of renewable energy sources, especially offshore wind.
“We believe that in 10 years, offshore wind will power every home in the country, our target going from 30 gigawatts to 40 gigawatts,” he said.
“You heard me right: your kettle, your washing machine, your stove, your heater, your rechargeable electric vehicle, all will receive their juice cleanly and without guilt from the breezes blowing around these islands,” he added.
The pledge to increase offshore wind capacity was included in the Conservative Party’s manifesto for the 2019 general election.
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