Back to overview

SSE Renewables appoints new Project Director for world’s largest offshore wind farm

07 Oct 2022

SSE Renewables has appointed Olly Cass as the new Project Director of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, set to be the world’s largest offshore wind farm when complete.

The appointment comes following the promotion of the former Project Director, Steve Wilson, to the role of Director of Offshore Capital Projects for SSE Renewables.

"Having been the Finance Director for the past 3 years I’m really looking forward to this new chapter on the project and to continuing to work with such a talented team.

It’s an incredibly exciting time on the project, with manufacturing ongoing at multiple facilities around the world, the early stages of offshore installation works underway and first power on Dogger Bank A scheduled for July 2023.

“The world’s largest offshore wind farm is a standout project which gives the whole team the ability to make a real difference on some of the biggest issues of the day. Once all three phases are fully operational Dogger Bank Wind Farm will deliver clean renewable power for 6 million UK homes, or about 5% of the UK’s electricity demand"

Olly Cass

"I am delighted to have been able to appoint Olly as the new Project Director and given his extensive knowledge and experience of Dogger Bank Wind Farm I have no doubt that he has the capabilities needed to lead the construction phase of this industry-leading project.

I can say from my experience in the role that it is an honour to be involved in both Dogger Bank and in establishing an affordable, resilient and secure source of electricity for UK homes and businesses."

Steve Wilson

About SSE Renewables

SSE Renewables is the leading renewable energy developer, owner and operator in the UK and Ireland with plans to expand in selected international markets to deliver the green energy the world needs. Its strategy is to lead the transition to a net zero future through the world-class development, construction and operation of renewable power assets and is building more offshore wind energy than any other company in the world. SSE Renewables is part of SSE plc, the UK-listed integrated energy group which is investing £12.5bn over five years, or £7m a day, to deliver a Net Zero Acceleration Programme to address climate change head on. This includes plans by SSE Renewables to double its installed renewable energy capacity to around 8GW by 2026 and ambitious targets to treble capacity to over 13GW by 2031, increasing output fivefold to over 50TWh annually – enough to be able to power around 20 million homes each year.

About Dogger Bank Wind Farm:

  • The 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm when completed in 2026.
  • It is being built in three 1.2GW phases: Dogger Bank A, B and C.
  • The project is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Eni Plenitude (20%).
  • SSE Renewables is lead operator for the development and construction of Dogger Bank Wind Farm. Equinor will be lead operator of the wind farm on completion for its expected operational life of around 35 years.
  • Financial Close on Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B was reached in November 2020, with Financial Close for Dogger Bank C reached in December 2021. Taken in aggregate, reaching Financial Close on all three phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm is the largest offshore wind project financing to date globally.
  • Consent for Dogger Bank Wind Farm was granted in 2015.
  • Each of the three phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm secured 15-year CfD contracts for 1.2GW of low carbon power for of low carbon power production in the UK’s third CfD Allocation Round, announced September 2019.
  • In May 2021, Dogger Bank Wind Farm took another major step forward after passing a required delivery milestone under the UK’s Contracts for Difference scheme for low carbon power.
  • Dogger Bank Wind Farm is located in the North Sea, with each phase more than 130km from the Yorkshire Coast.
  • Onshore construction began in 2020 and is currently underway for Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B, while offshore construction on Dogger Bank A began in Spring 2022. First power is expected in Summer 2023 and Summer 2024 for Dogger Bank A and B, respectively, with commercial operations to follow around 6 months later.
  • Onshore cable installation civils works for Dogger Bank C started in Q1 2022, with construction of the onshore convertor station to commence later this year. Offshore export cable installation will commence in Q1 2024 with offshore platform installation to commence in Q2 2024.
  • Foundation installation on Dogger Bank C will commence in Q3 2024 while turbine installation will commence in Q2 2025. First power is anticipated in Q3 2025 and full power in Q1 2026.
  • Dogger Bank Wind Farm is fully committed to supporting the UK offshore wind supply chain. To date we estimate more than 1,500 UK roles have been created or supported in relation to the construction and operation of the wind farm.
  • 470 jobs are expected to be recruited by GE Renewable Energy across the north-east of England in support of the delivery and operation of all three phases of the project. These will be made up of around 300 skilled roles for turbine installation and commissioning activities and 170 servicing roles at Port of Tyne under GE’s five-year Service and Warranty Agreements for Dogger Bank phases A, B and C once operational.
  • At least a further 30 roles will be hired by Equinor as operator of the wind farm, based at the Port of Tyne or offshore.
  • 170 new full-time UK-based jobs will be created by North Star Renewables in crewing and shore-based roles for the operation of the service fleet for Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
  • Up to 100 peak construction jobs will be created by Jones Bros. Civil Engineering, one of the UK’s leading civil engineering contractors, on the installation of onshore cable infrastructure for Dogger Bank A and B.
  • Dogger Bank A and B has confirmed GE’s Haliade-X 13MW as the turbine powering the first two phases of the project. As the first order for the Haliade-X 13MW, installation at Dogger Bank A will be the first time the turbine is installed in the world.
  • Installation of GE’s upscaled Haliade-X 14MW turbine at Dogger Bank C will be the first time the 14MW turbine is installed in the world.
  • One rotation of the Haliade-X turbine blades can power one UK home for more than two days.
  • The wind turbines will be installed on monopile foundations.
  • Dogger Bank will be the first High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) connected wind farm in the UK due to its distance from shore, introducing new transmission systems to the UK and paving the way for other large offshore wind farms.
  • Around 10,000 people, including world leaders, have signed their name on a Dogger Bank turbine as a symbol of their support for climate action. The names will appear on one of the first turbines to be installed on the wind farm from 2023.
  • For more information about Dogger Bank Wind Farm visit doggerbank.com