Fourth Phase Could Bring 2 GW More to World’s Already Largest Offshore Wind Farm Under Construction

September 26, 2023, by Adrijana Buljan

Dogger Bank D, the potential fourth phase of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, whose first three phases totalling 3.6 GW are currently being built, is planned to have a generation capacity of around 2 GW. If built, the fourth phase would bring the total installed capacity of the UK project – already the world’s largest offshore wind farm under construction – to over 5.5 GW.

SSE Renewables and Equinor, which own the Dogger Bank A, B and C offshore wind farms through a consortium that also comprises Vårgrønn, have now launched a public consultation period on the Dogger Bank D proposals that runs until 7 November.

The consultation will provide the opportunity for the community to find out more about the project, ask questions, and share feedback that will help refine plans for the project and guide further development of the proposals ahead of its potential application to the Planning Inspectorate and Secretary of State for a Development Consent Order (DCO) as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project.

A second phase of consultation is planned for summer 2024.

The developers have already held several meetings with the Planning Inspectorate and submitted a scoping report in April this year, with an opinion on the report adopted this June. In May, SSE Renewables and Equinor, through a company named Gatroben Developments 2 Limited, also filed for an electricity generation licence with Ofgem and were granted the licence on 20 July.

The two companies’ plans to add the fourth phase to the 3.6 GW project made headlines last year as the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, already being the world’s largest offshore wind farm under construction, would become even larger.

As reported in October 2022, the potential fourth phase was planned to have an installed capacity of 1.32 GW. In a press release announcing the start of the public consultation, SSE Renewables and Equinor said that Dogger Bank D could have a generation capacity of up to around 2 GW, subject to further technical studies.

The 2 GW offshore wind farm is currently planned to comprise 128 wind turbines and up to six offshore platforms.

The site where Dogger Bank D would be built is located some 210 kilometres off the northeast coast of England, in the eastern zone of the Dogger Bank C lease area.

The project development team is exploring different opportunities to utilise the energy that could be produced by Dogger Bank D, including supplying electricity to UK consumers and producing green hydrogen.

For electrical transmission, SSE Renewables and Equinor are looking into the fourth Dogger Bank phase providing electricity for homes and businesses by linking to the UK transmission system, either via a grid connection into the national grid or a connection offshore to a wider coordinated grid network to Europe.

The hydrogen production would be facilitated by connecting Dogger Bank D to a new large-scale onshore electrolysis facility located in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The hydrogen produced could connect to a wider hydrogen network and support the decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries in the Humber, according to the developers.

In the public consultation, two sites near Aldbrough and Saltend have been identified as possible locations for a Hydrogen Production Facility, alongside potential infrastructure corridors.

“We look forward to welcoming the public to our consultation events for Dogger Bank D and for local communities to learn more about our proposals. It’s really important that local people have the opportunity to come and talk to the team and share their views with us. We are looking forward to sharing our ideas with local communities and listening to what they have to say,” said Rob Cussons, Project Manager at Dogger Bank D.