Today is one for the history books as we announce that Dogger Bank, which will become the world's largest offshore wind farm when complete, has produced power for the first time from UK waters. This follows the successful energisation of the first of 277 GE Vernova Haliade-X turbines at the North Sea site.
‘First power’ means Dogger Bank is now switched on and producing electricity for British homes and businesses. We are on our way to delivering what will become the UK’s biggest single source of renewable power, and to providing cleaner energy for up to 6 million homes each year. It’s undoubtedly a landmark moment for our project team, for SSE Renewables and for our partners Equinor and Vårgrønn – but it’s also an historic moment in Britain’s transition to a net zero future.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has hailed first power generation at Dogger Bank, saying it “will not only bolster our energy security, but create jobs, lower electricity bills and keep us on track for Net Zero”.
It also reaffirms the critical role offshore wind plays in providing reliable renewable power that will be the backbone of Britain’s energy future.
At SSE, we talk about how it’s action, not just ambition, that will deliver the solutions to tackle the climate emergency – and, for me, today’s milestone sums up how we’re delivering on those words. Hitting ‘first power’ comes down to years of action, day in, day out, from colleagues across SSE Renewables as well as our delivery partners, including a world-class supply chain, our co-investors and our lenders.
As you might expect with a project of this scale and complexity, there are significant challenges to navigate. We are, after all, delivering the world’s largest offshore wind farm using first-of-its-kind technology, at an unprecedented scale across an area almost as large as Greater London, and at a site over 70 nautical miles (130km) from the coast. This was always going to be a complex and challenging programme, and all our project partners are delighted and proud to have safely achieved first power.
The campaign to help secure Britain’s energy future for decades to come continues, as we progress the installation phase, one turbine at a time.
But we need many more Dogger Banks if we are to stay on track for Net Zero. That’s why we’re progressing one of the largest offshore wind pipelines in the UKincludes our 500MW Seagreen 1A project and our massive 4.1GW Berwick Bank super project, each off the east coast of Scotland, and our 504MW North Falls project off the east coast of England. We’ve also recently unveiled proposals for a potential fourth phase of Dogger Bank that could be capable of generating up to 2GW of renewable power.
So, as we celebrate this big step forward today, we know we need to continue to take real action at real pace. As the UK’s clean energy champion, we stand ready to work with Government to help make these planned investments happen, so we can deliver the many more Dogger Banks we need to secure a better energy future.