About Offshore Wind in North East England

North East England is a region synonymous with the offshore wind sector. It has been instrumental in the development of the industry since its inception in 2000, and is home to an established and diverse supply chain cluster, which continues to lead the way in innovation and technology-led solutions. 

Championing the experience and expertise of the cluster and the region’s wider capabilities is Energi Coast.  Established in 2011, Energi Coast has become an integral part of the growth of the offshore wind industry.  It has grown from being one of the UK’s first regional offshore wind supply chain steering groups into one of the eight regional offshore wind clusters under the Offshore Wind Sector Deal, which was signed in 2019 and recognises the importance of clusters in driving the UK offshore wind industry forward. 

The region is steeped in industrial history, from its world-famous ship building heritage, through to being the region that built 70 percent of the oil rigs in the North Sea, North East England has continued to evolve its engineering-led capabilities to not only remain relevant in an increasingly global market, but position itself at the forefront of the offshore wind  industry. 

With its extensive infrastructure, including five highly-active ports, and its location on the east coast of England with two world class offshore wind farms on its doorstep, namely Dogger Bank Wind Farms and the Sofia Offshore Wind Farm, the region maintains its enviable track-record of its supply chain cluster contributing to the lion’s share of the world’s existing offshore wind farms.   

As a result, the cluster has matured to deliver a comprehensive portfolio of services to the sector across design, construction, installation and operations & maintenance phases. This expertise ranges from foundations, cables, installation and ports and logistics to training and specialist subsea services. 

At the heart of the cluster is a desire to collaborate creating a close and supportive community among supply chain companies.   

The offshore wind sector in North East England is very much open for business and continues to be at the vanguard of this dynamic growing industry. 

About Offshore Wind in North East England Map

 

 

North East England Offshore Wind Project Facts

Dogger Bank Wind Farm A, B & C 

Dogger Bank Wind Farms is the world’s biggest offshore wind farm under development. When complete it will be able to provide over 4.5 million UK homes with renewable electricity from the wind – around 5% of the UK’s electricity demand.  

Developer details:  Equinor, SSE Renewables and Eni

Supplier portal: Register on the Dogger Bank Wind Farm Supplier portal here.

Key Contractors:

  • ABB - High voltage direct current (HVDC) converter systems
  • Aibel - High voltage direct current (HVDC) offshore converter platforms
  • DEME - Inter-Array Cables (supply, install and protect)
  • GE Renewable Energy - Turbines
  • Jan De Nul Group - Transport and Installation of the offshore wind turbines
  • Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK - Installation of onshore cable infrastructure
  • NKT - Manufacture, supply & installation of offshore export power cables & onshore export power cables
  • North Star - Deliver three state-of-the-art service operation vessels (SOVs)
  • Offshore Heavy Transport (OHT) - Transport & Installation of Foundations
  • Saipem - Transportation and installation of two offshore High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) platforms
  • Sif-Smulders consortium - Fabrication and supply of all foundations

The Operations and Maintenance (O&M) base is located at the Port of Tyne.

The wind turbine installation base is located at Able Seaton Port.

MW: Combined capacity 3600 (3x1200) 

Start date: Expected 2023  

Status: Under construction

Distance from shore: 130km 

Sofia Offshore Wind Farm

Sofia Offshore Wind Farm is a 1400MW wind farm, sited on the shallow central area of the North Sea known as Dogger Bank. It is one of the world’s largest single offshore wind farms and once completed will generate enough green energy to supply the equivalent of 1.2 million UK homes with their annual electricity needs.

Developer details: RWE Renewables  

Supplier portal: Register on the Sofia Offshore Wind Farm Supplier portal here.

Announcements:

  • Webinar introducing Sofia attracts 500 suppliers: click here
  • Sofia video tells story of the project's development: click here

Key Contractors:

MW: 1400 

Start date: Construction to start 2021 

Status: Under construction

Distance from shore: 195km 

Teesside Wind Farm 

Teesside Offshore Wind Farm is a 27 turbine farm which has the capacity to produce enough low carbon electricity to meet the average annual needs of all the homes and businesses in nearby towns equating to approximately 40,000 homes. 

Developer details: EDF Renewables, Dalmore Capital, Pensions Infrastructure Platform 

Operator: EDF Renewables 

Key Contractors: Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy 2.3MW wind turbines 

MW: 62.1  

Start date: 2013 

Status: Operational 

Distance from shore:  2 km 

Blyth Offshore Demonstrator Wind Farm  

Blyth Offshore Demonstrator Wind Farm is the five turbine test site for new and emerging offshore technologies and the first offshore wind farm to use float and submerge technology. 

Developer details: EDF Renewables 

Operator: EDF Renewables 

Key Contractors: MHI Vestas 8.3MW turbines 

MW: 41.5 (5 x 8.3) 

Start date: 2017 

Status: Operational 

Distance from shore: 6 km 

Blyth 2 Floating Offshore Wind Farm

EDF Renewables plans to build phase two of the Blyth 2 Floating Offshore Wind Farm off the coast of Northumberland using floating offshore wind technology. Once completed it would be among the first projects of this kind in English waters. 

Developer details: EDF Renewables 

Operator: EDF Renewables 

Key Contractors: The project has yet to select the key contractors including the turbine supplier but a range of floating technology options are being considered, with the final design still to be determined by further detailed engineering studies.

MW: To be confirmed, capacity of up to 58.4 (5 x 11.68) 

Start date: To be confirmed, target to be fully commissioned by Spring 2025

Status: In planning

Distance from shore: 14 km 

Blyth Offshore Wind Farm

Blyth Offshore Wind Farm was a small coastal wind farm located 0.5 miles (0.80 km) off the coast of Blyth, Northumberland, England.  Commissioned in December 2000 as a pilot project, the project was the UK's first offshore wind farm, and was decommissioned in 2019 at the end of its natural life. 

Developer details: E.ON, Shell Renewables, NUON, Border Wind consortium.   

Operator: E.ON  

Key Contractors: The turbines were manufactured by Danish wind energy company Vestas, and installed by the marine division of AMEC Capital Projects and Seacore 

MW:  4 (2 x 2) 

Start date: 2019  

Status: Decommissioned 

Distance from shore: 0.5km 

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