New Energy World™
New Energy World™ embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low-carbon technologies.
World’s largest jack-up to start work on Dogger Bank offshore wind farm
28/6/2023
News
The world’s largest offshore jack-up installation vessel, Voltaire, recently arrived in the UK port of Able Seaton ahead of its first campaign on the Dogger Bank wind farm.
The vessel, which has a lifting capacity of over 3,000 tonnes, is to install the first of 277 GE Renewable Energy Haliade-X turbines at Dogger Bank in the southern North Sea next month. Once completed in 2026, the 3.6 GW Dogger Bank wind farm will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm. It is being built in three 1.2 GW phases: Dogger Bank A, B and C.
The project is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Vårgrønn (20%). SSE Renewables is the lead operator for the development and construction of Dogger Bank, while Equinor will take over as lead operator of the wind farm on completion for its expected operational life of around 35 years. When complete, Dogger Bank will generate enough energy to power up to six million UK homes every year.
The Voltaire jack-up installation vessel is fitted with an advanced exhaust filtering system by means of a selective catalytic reduction system and a diesel particulate filter, making her the first vessel of her kind to be an ultra-low emission vessel (ULEv), according to Jan De Nul Group.
PPA signed for Baltic Eagle wind energy
In other news, Iberdrola and Stahl Holding Saar (SHS) have agreed a 15-year power supply agreement (PPA) covering the supply of around 50 MW from the Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm being built in the Baltic Sea.
Baltic Eagle is the second of three large-scale Iberdrola projects in Germany, alongside the 350 MW Wikinger and 300 MW Windanker wind farms. It is expected to be commissioned at the end of 2024 with a total capacity of 476 MW, enough to supply green energy to 475,000 private households while saving 800,000 t/y of CO2.
The PPA will allow SHS to cover 200 GWh of annual consumption and help reduce CO2 emissions from its Saarstahl and Dillinger steel production facilities in Germany.
Currently, SHS’ steel production is still based on classic blast furnace technology. However, according to company Chairman Dr Karl-Ulrich Köhler, from 2030 onwards, SHS wants to produce 3.5mn tonnes, about 70% of its steel, with lower emissions, and by 2045 achieve production that is ‘as CO2-neutral as possible’.
