Wind energy technical services provider Boston Energy has helped the world’s largest offshore wind farm generate its first power, in a key milestone for the UK’s transition to net zero.
Boston Energy is undertaking the onshore commissioning and completion, offshore mechanical and electrical (M&E) completion and offshore commissioning elements of the Dogger Bank project for the wind farm’s turbine manufacturer, GE Vernova.
The Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be the world’s largest wind farm when fully operational in 2026, as it will be capable of powering up to six million UK homes. First power was achieved at Dogger Bank in early October, with the first of 277 turbines installed and energised. Each rotation of a turbine can produce enough clean energy to power an average home for two days.
Located between 130km and 190km off the North East coast of England at their nearest points, each of the three phases, A, B and C, will have an installed generation capacity of 1.2GW based on GE Vernova’s Haliade-X wind turbine platform.
Boston Energy has been awarded major multi-million pound contracts to support the installation programme, representing the largest ever single award in the offshore wind sector for technical manpower services and cementing Boston Energy’s position as the pre-eminent supplier in this field.
Nathan Fahey, Project Director at GE Vernova, said: “We have been working with Boston Energy since the contract award for offshore commissioning of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm and I’m really pleased to have them as a trusted partner as we move into the operational phase of the project.
“I trust the team will deliver the expected results, at the quality and execution standards we want to provide to our customer.
“We are very much looking forward to working with Boston Energy to help us deliver this fantastic project utilising our Haliade-X turbines. Delivering this project will significantly enhance the UK’s net zero ambitions and help make a substantial dent in CO2 emissions.”
Julian Cattermole, CEO of Boston Energy, said: “We’re thrilled that GE Vernova have entrusted us to deliver the onshore and offshore commissioning of this truly exciting, and transformative project.
“GE has recognised that Boston Energy has a very strong track record of delivering exceptional quality on its projects as well as ensuring it delivers to budget and to the highest safety and environmental standards.
“We now need to get on and deliver to those same exacting standards that GE Vernova expects.”
The project comes at an exciting time for Boston Energy, as leading private equity investor LDC has made a significant investment in the company as it targets further international expansion, helping to respond to the growing demand for services at pace and increasing investment in technicians.
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is a joint venture partnership between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Vårgrønn (20%) with SSE Renewables leading on the development and construction, while Equinor will operate the wind farm on completion, for its expected operational life of around 35 years.
Simon Bailey, Dogger Bank Wind Farm Commercial Director for SSE, said: “It’s great to see another key contractor creating job opportunities to support the construction of Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
“Construction and commissioning of turbine technology is a critical element of our programme that will help us to steadily ramp up to full operating capacity of 3.6GW by 2026.”
The Dogger Bank project is due to be completed in 2026 and Boston Energy is looking forward to working closely with GE Vernova throughout the next three years and beyond.
