Hitachi ABB and Aibel win major contracts for world’s largest offshore wind project

Hitachi ABB Power Grids and oil and gas service firm Aibel have won major contracts for the grid connection and the converter platform respectively of the third phase of the giant Dogger Bank offshore wind project in the UK, which when completed will be the world’s largest with a capacity of 3.6GW.

Hitachi ABB has been awarded a contract for the 130 kilometres high voltage direct current (HVDC) third transmission link form the 1.2GW Dogger Bank C in the North Sea to the UK mainland. The new award extends the ongoing delivery of Dogger Bank A and B to include C. It is still subject to a financial close of the third phase, which is expected for late 2021.

The company didn’t reveal the value of the order.

"Together, with customers and partners, we are playing a key role in accelerating the energy transition," said Niklas Persson, managing director of Hitachi ABB Power Grids’ grid integration business.

"HVDC technology contributes significantly towards a carbon-neutral energy future by enabling the integration of large-scale and remote renewable energy generation."

Norwegian oil major Equinor and UK utility SSE Renewables have jointly developed Dogger Bank in a 50-50% joint venture. Italian oil firm Eni will take a 20% stake in the first two phases, which is still subject to regulatory and lender approvals.

The giant Dogger Bank wind farms are expected to produce enough electricity to power six million homes in the UK when completed in 2026. The massive project is key to the UK’s ambition to build up 40GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.

GE Renewable Energy has already been named preferred wind turbine supplier for all three phases of Dogger Bank.

Norway’s Abel won another big order from Dogger Bank C, an EPC contract to provide the converter platform for the third phase of the development.

Converter platforms convert incoming alternate current production from wind farms into direct current for export to shore via a HVDC trunk line. HVDC transmission cables are used for far offshore arrays as they have less electricity losses than direct current lines.

Early UK offshore developments didn’t use HVDC transmission as wind farms were closer to shore, while HVDC links have been common in Germany for years, where North Sea wind farms are further out at sea.

Aibel had already been awarded a similar contract for the DolWin5 grid link in the German North Sea by Dutch-German transmission system operator (TSO) TenneT.

"With this award, we once again confirm our position as a preferred supplier in the European offshore wind segment and strengthen our role in the ongoing energy industry transformation," said Aibel chief executive Mads Andersen.

Working together with Hitachi ABB and Aibel will lead to optimum efficiency during construction work, Dogger Bank project director Steve Wilson added.