Hitachi ABB Power Grids announced that the owners/developers of the 3.6-GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm have selected it to connect the third transmission link from Dogger Bank to the UK mainland. The link is 130 km.
Hitachi ABB Power Grid is already delivering the interconnects for Dogger Bank A and B and the new contract is for the third phase, Dogger Bank C.
Dogger Bank A and B is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Eni (20%) subject to regulatory and lender approvals of Eni’s agreement to enter the joint venture which are due in early 2021.
Hitachi ABB Power Grids will use its compact high-voltage direct-current technology, HVDC Light, to fulfill the contract. The company said the latest HVDC Light system provides the most compact design and the lowest energy losses in the power industry. According to an independent life cycle assessment, the implementation of this technology will reduce the lifetime CO2 impact by almost two-thirds, compared to previously commissioned installations, supporting the green energy transition and the strong global focus on carbon-neutral energy systems, said Hitachi ABB Power Grids.
“Confirmation of our collaboration with Hitachi ABB Power Grids on all three phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm is another important milestone for our world-leading development,” said Steve Wilson, Project Director at Dogger Bank Wind Farm. “Working together in an integrated way will enable us to achieve optimum efficiency during the design, procurement and construction work, while the use of market-leading HVDC technology will ensure efficient and reliable transmission of renewable energy for six million UK households once all of the wind farm phases become operational.”
“This is an important milestone for Dogger Bank Wind Farm,” said Halfdan Brustad, Vice President for Dogger Bank at Equinor. “Using HVDC technology is a competitive solution for offshore wind at a long distance from shore, and this will be the first offshore HVDC solution in the UK, opening up new markets and opportunities. The appointment of Hitachi ABB Power Grids demonstrates cross industry collaboration, bringing best expertise into a successful Dogger Bank delivery.”
Hitachi ABB Power Grids has delivered more than half of the world’s HVDC projects, it says. These include North Sea offshore wind grid connection projects such as DolWin 1 and 2, and the world’s first offshore wind farm, BorWin1. In addition, Hitachi ABB Power Grids is playing a central role in connecting the SSEN Transmission-owned Shetland link to its Caithness-Moray HVDC system for integration to the UK mainland transmission network.
Aibel will work alongside Hitachi ABB Power Grids to provide the offshore converter platforms located in the North Sea.
