Beyond the horizon off the coast of North Yorkshire, a silent rebellion emerges from the North Sea waves.
More than 80 miles from land, hundreds of the world’s most powerful windmills have begun to reach into the air as construction progresses on the world’s largest wind farm. never built. Nearly 200 turbines, each almost as tall as the Eiffel tower, will soon rise above the Doggerland underwater to capture a vast expanse of sea as large as North Yorkshire itself.
The Dogger Bank wind farm is an engineering activity that marks a major shift in renewable energy growth. Each steel structure, weighing 2,800 tons, was designed to go up more than 250 meters from where their heels are buried in the seabed to the top of each 107-meter blade. The incredible scale of the turbines means that each one can generate enough electricity to power 16,000 homes, at less than the average price of electricity in the wholesale energy market.
Haliade-X wind turbine relative size
This offshore wind farm, and others like it, promise to power a surge in clean electricity – which will soon be needed in large numbers to turn on cars, heat homes and the creation of green hydrogen gas for factories and transport. It is a key part of the government’s plan to neutralize the UK’s carbon by 2050, and reiterate Britain’s global role in the industrial revolution for the low carbon age.
And it already plays an important part: on Boxing Day, Storm Bella ensured that for the first time, more than half of Britain ‘s daily electricity came from wind turbines.
Dogger Bank’s farm construction falls to one of the few major renewable energy companies in the UK, SSE. Built on the legacy of some of Britain’s earliest renewable energy projects – the roots are in Scotland’s hydroelectric board – SSE will build the wind farm in three phases through the 2020s. Each level represents a multi-million pound investment, hundreds of jobs in the north east of England, and clean enough electricity to power millions of homes.
Alistair Phillips-Davies, chief executive of SSE, announced a £ 6bn funding deal – involving 29 banks and advisers – last month to support the construction costs of the first two phases, which could announce the third contract by this time next year.
“For SSE, and for all our staff, there is nothing we can be more proud of at the moment than reaching a financial close to what will eventually be a project. £ 9bn, ”he said.
“This is the largest and most innovative offshore wind farm. It will generate more energy per foot of these rotors than any other project, enough to power a house for two days. But the amazing thing is, we’re going to do more. We’re going to see more and more [offshore wind] behind the prime minister’s 10-point plan. ”
Boris Johnson’s plan for a green industrial revolution relies heavily on offshore wind power, which he hopes to triple to 40GW by 2030. This is important for two reasons. The first is the rapid expansion of the renewable energy industry to help generate enough clean electricity to eliminate fossil fuels from the energy system, as the UK works to achieve a zero-zero economy. create carbon by 2050. The second reason is to stimulate supply. -chain increase that will help drive the UK’s green economic growth and create large numbers of “green collar” jobs.
On a gray day in December in Northumberland, Prime Minister Phillips-Davies led a tour of a wind turbine test facility in Blyth – just one example of the mushroom-making industry innovation in several British coastal towns thanks to to the offshore wind rise.
The Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult Center will employ 200 people tasked with testing the equipment used to build offshore wind farms, including the turbines that hit the world at Dogger Bank. In a reinforced solid test hangar, each 100-meter-long rotor blade is passed through the steps to ensure it can withstand the rigors of the North Sea. This includes specially designed equipment that can move the blade through a 25-meter range, 24 hours a day, for four to six months.
“We can build, and test, world-class wind turbines here,” said Phillips-Davies. “But we want more UK content to be involved in our projects. We hope to encourage more supply chain companies to come to the UK so that we can increase UK content in our wind farms to well beyond 60%. “
Today, blades for Dogger Bank farm are manufactured overseas and shipped to Port Tyne before being taken to the testing facility on large riverside bars. Soon, however, U.S. business giant GE may begin building the giant turbine – known as Haliade-X – at a UK factory, providing much-needed jobs for a sector. struggling British manufacturing.
Interactive Dogger Bank wind farm
Dogger Bank wind farms have, to date, supported over 300 jobs in the coastal communities of Hartlepool and Port Tyne, which are set to benefit economically from the project. Employment is expected to climb into the thousands as construction work on the second and third stages begins. The former SSE offshore wind farms have also created new renewable energy plants on the east coast of Britain from Wick and Dundee in Scotland to the Norfolk coast.
Offshore wind farms built by Danish power company Ørsted and ScottishPower Renewables have also supported thousands of jobs and supply chain hubs across the east coast of the UK. In total, the offshore wind industry expects to create 27,000 new jobs by 2030.
“Many of these offshore facilities are in lesser known locations. They are around the edges of the UK, in places that may need investment and more jobs. So it’s a great opportunity, ”said Phillips-Davies.
“I think we have over 1,000 green jobs created so far, and almost £ 10bn worth of projects completed. So we feel that we are in a very strong position, and I hope that we can move forward strongly from here over the next ten years. ”