Dogger Bank, the world’s largest offshore wind farm is being build off the North East coast of England. The project will have a huge impact in the region, with 200 jobs to be created at the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) base, which will be located at the Port of Tyne. The Port was selected due to the commercial offer, its proximity to the wind farm and its proactive approach to sustainability. It is a 24 hour, deep-sea port which means that our Service Operations Vessels can access the Port without tidal restrictions. These vessels, home for our technicians whilst out at sea, will travel between the O&M base and the wind farm so unrestricted access is essential to ensure we operate the wind farm efficiently. The Port is also well placed centrally within the North East, with a supply area that stretches both North and South of the River Tyne. It is part of North East England’s Offshore Wind Cluster, and basing our operations here will support the continued growth of the wider supply chain across the whole region.
The project has already brought opportunities to the local supply chain and business community, with more to come, and is the anchor projects for GE’s investment in a blade manufacturing facility on Teesside, creating over 2000 additional jobs in the area. The North East region benefits from a rich industrial heritage, and a multi-skilled workforce with many transferable skills relevant to the offshore wind industry and we have worked closely with local architecture firm Ryder to design our flagship operations and maintenance facility, to ensure it is both environmentally sustainable and future-fit in order to attract the best local talents to join our team.
Dogger Bank, Equinor
As a broad energy company, Equinor is committed to long term value creation in a low carbon future, and targeting carbon neutral operations globally by 2030.
With its partners SSE Renewables and Eni, Equinor is building the largest offshore wind farm in the world, Dogger Bank, off the North East coast of England. Equinor will lead the Operations phase of the wind farm, and around 200 new roles will be created to operate and maintain the wind farm, from a state-of-the-art base that will be constructed at the Port of Tyne.
Equinor is working closely with the North East Offshore Wind Cluster Energi Coast and the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult to advance the offshore wind industry in the region. This includes supporting the Technology, Innovation & Green Growth for Offshore Renewables (TIGGOR) programme designed to boost supply chain growth and productivity for companies in the North East.
Equinor is also a leader in carbon capture utilisation & storage (CCUS) and hydrogen, and is developing a number of projects in the UK, including in the Humber and Teesside regions of North East England. It is developing the H2H Saltend low-carbon hydrogen production plant that is at the heart of the Zero Carbon Humber alliance and collaborating with SSE Thermal on low-carbon power projects using hydrogen and carbon capture in the Humber. It is also partnering in the Net Zero Teesside power project and, as part of the Northern Endurance Partnership, it is developing CO2 transport and storage infrastructure for the Humber and Teesside.