Installation Of Offshore Wind Turbines On World’s Largest Offshore Jack-Up Installation Vessel Announced

Dogger Bank Wind Farm and Jan De Nul Group announce the signing of the final contract for the transport and installation of the GE Haliade-X offshore wind turbines at Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B, 130 km off the Yorkshire coast, starting in 2023.

Turbine delivery and installation at the first two phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be the first assignment for the world’s largest Offshore Jack-Up Installation Vessel owned by Jan De Nul Group, the Voltaire.

The 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which is being delivered in the North Sea in three 1.2GW phases, is set to be the world’s largest offshore wind farm when complete and is a joint venture between SSE Renewables and Equinor.

Image Credits: jandenul.com

When complete, Dogger Bank will generate enough energy to power over 4.5 million homes every year – around 5% of the UK’s electricity needs.

Dogger Bank Wind Farm secured 3.6 GW of offshore wind contracts in the UK Government’s 2019 contracts for difference auctions. Record low prices were awarded for the three projects making up Dogger Bank Wind Farm: Dogger Bank A, Dogger Bank B and Dogger Bank C. Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B are now moving towards final investment decision, expected by the end of 2020. SSE Renewables is leading the development and construction phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm and Equinor will lead on operations for its lifetime of at least 25 years, creating around 200 jobs in the North East.

Steve Wilson, Dogger Bank Wind Farm’s Project Director at SSE Renewables: “We’re very pleased to have signed the final contract with industry leader Jan De Nul Group to transport and install the turbines for Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B. Jan De Nul has a proven track record of transporting and installing new generation offshore wind turbines at scale and its state-of-the-art Voltaire vessel will be the largest and ultra-clean jack up vessel ever seen in the industry when operational. This contract further demonstrates the industry-leading status of Dogger Bank Wind Farm and the innovative supply chain partners such as Jan De Nul that are delivering the project.”

Halfdan Brustad, Vice President for Dogger Bank at Equinor: “Dogger Bank is a record-breaking project, leading the way in terms of technology and scale. We are so pleased to have secured the Voltaire vessel for this project, not only is it the largest of its kind, but also the first Ultra-Low Emission jack-up vessel, which is truly pioneering. Innovation across all levels of the supply chain has enabled offshore wind projects to grow in size whilst reducing costs, and this has been a large factor in the growing success of offshore wind.”

Philippe Hutse, Director Offshore Division at Jan De Nul Group: “We are delighted to have signed the first contract for our new generation jack-up vessel Voltaire and to work together with industry leaders SSE Renewables and Equinor. When taking the decision to build this exciting vessel we had exactly the type of project in mind like Dogger Bank Wind Farm in terms of scale and characteristics of the offshore sites and the turbines. We are proud to contribute to the worldwide transition to renewable energies by installing the offshore wind turbines at Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B in the most efficient and clean manner possible.”

Press Release

Source: Maritime Shipping News