Equinor and its partners in the Dogger Bank Wind Farm project have revealed the design of a multimillion-dollar operations base slated for the Port of Tyne. The Norwegian operator and international design practice Ryder Architecture designed the base using environmentally friendly materials, EV chargers, and solar panels to ensure the facility has a low carbon impact.
The operations base will include offices for employees based onshore and a warehouse to store spare parts, as well as a new quay suitable for the vessels that provide accommodation and transport to and from the wind farm.
SSE Renewables is leading construction of the wind farm and Equinor will operate the project for its lifetime of up to 35 years. Once complete, the wind farm will be capable of providing around 5% of the UK’s electricity demand.
The plans for the operations and management facility have been submitted to South Tyneside Council for a planning application. A construction contractor will be appointed in the coming months.
“Over the last month investment for a new manufacturing facility in Teesside has been announced, set to provide the 107-m turbine blades to Dogger Bank, and the contract for our three operations vessels has been awarded to a Scottish company, creating further jobs in Scotland and the North East,” said Halfdan Brustad, vice president for Dogger Bank at Equinor.
LM Wind Power, a GE Renewable Energy business, will set up and operate the new manufacturing facility at Teesworks. The factory will start producing the blades for the wind farm in 2023.
North Star Renewables was awarded an estimated $371.6 million in contracts to deliver the trio of service operation vessels to be used on the project.
Dogger Bank is being built in three equal phases of 1.2 GW each. The first two phases, Dogger Bank A and B, are a joint venture between Equinor (40%), SSE Renewables (40%), and Eni (20%). The third phase, Dogger Bank C, is being developed on a different timescale and is owned by Equinor (50%) and SSE Renewables (50%).
SSE and Equinor are expected to sell off a stake in Dogger Bank C, the 1.2-GW third phase of the project, with each party offering up a 10% share. The duo previously sold a combined 20% stake in the first two phases of the project to Italian oil company Eni for $560 million.
