Inside Offshore Wind - Forewind and Dogger Bank

Forewind and Dogger Bank Forewind is a consortium of four leading international energy companies – RWE, SSE, Statkraft and Statoil – committed to securing all the necessary consents required for offshore wind development in the Dogger Bank Zone.

The Dogger Bank Zone is in the North Sea, located between 125 and 290 kilometres (77 to 180 miles) off the east coast of Yorkshire. It is the largest of The Crown Estate’s Round 3 zones, extending over approximately 8660 square kilometres (3343 square miles), which is about the same size as North Yorkshire.

As the Dogger Bank Zone is so large, it is being developed in stages and, if fully realised, will be the largest offshore wind development in the world. It would make a huge contribution to the UK’s electricity generation capacity, with each of the proposed 1.2 GW projects delivering up to 4 terawatt hours (TWh) of green power per annum, equivalent to the electricity used by almost one million British homes.

Forewind has accumulated a huge amount of data via detailed geophysical (seabed and sub-seabed) surveys; geotechnical testing; meteorological and oceanographic data collection, and wind data collection. More than £60 million has been spent on the surveys with the vast majority of work going to UK-based contractors, and the data has contributed to a wider scientific knowledge of Dogger Bank.

To date Forewind has submitted development consent order applications to the Planning Inspectorate for the first two stages, each comprising two 1.2 gigawatt (GW) wind farm projects. Due to their size, they both fall into the category of nationally significant infrastructure projects.

The application for the first stage – Dogger Bank Creyke Beck – was submitted in August 2013 and a decision is expected by 17 February 2015. The application for the second stage – Dogger Bank Teesside A&B – was submitted in March 2014 and a decision is expected by 5 August 2015.

Economic benefits
With its current industrial base, the UK could provide up to 38 per cent of the total content of these four Dogger Bank projects, which equates to an investment of close to £7 billion. If new relevant manufacturing facilities are established this could rise to 72 per cent of the content, or an investment of around £13 billion.

Delivering these four projects with the existing UK manufacturing base could create more than 4500 new direct and indirect jobs and generate an additional £1.6 billion for the UK economy. With the successful establishment of new relevant manufacturing facilities, this could increase to around 9000 new jobs giving a £3.4 billion boost to the national economy.

Dogger Bank Creyke Beck

Dogger Bank Creyke Beck will have an installed capacity of up to 2.4 GW and will connect into the existing Creyke Beck substation near Cottingham, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. It will comprise two wind farms, Dogger Bank Creyke Beck A and Dogger Bank Creyke Beck B – both are 131 kilometres from shore at their closest point. In total it will generate around eight terawatt hours (TWh) of green electricity per annum, which is almost enough to power all the homes in the Yorkshire and Humber region every year. Provided new relevant manufacturing businesses are established in the UK, it could also create up to 4750 new direct and indirect jobs and generate around £1.7 billion for the UK economy.

Offshore
The boundaries for both Dogger Bank Creyke Bank wind farms were identified in 2012, defining the limits of where the offshore wind farm infrastructure will go.

Summary of key offshore components.

Onshore
The offshore cables will come to shore just north of Ulrome on the Holderness coast. From this landfall, onshore underground cables will carry the power approximately 30 kilometres to the two converter stations located between Beverley and Cottingham adjacent to the A1079. A further two kilometres of export cables will run from
the converter stations to the National Grid substation at Creyke Beck.

Consent award.

After the development consent is awarded, each 1.2 GW wind farm will be transferred to an operating company to progress it to the next stage.

Dogger Bank Teesside A&B

Dogger Bank Teesside A&B is Forewind’s second stage of development. It comprises two 1.2 GW wind farms – Dogger Bank Teesside A, with its closest point from shore at 196 km, and Dogger Bank Teesside B, which is 165 km from shore.

It will connect into the national grid at the existing Lackenby substation near Eston, in the Borough of Redcar and Cleveland. In total it will have an installed generating capacity of up to 2.4 GW and will generate around 8 TWh of green electricity per annum, which is enough to power around 1.8 million British homes. It could also create up to 4750 new direct and indirect jobs and generate more than £1.5 billion for the UK economy.

Offshore
The boundaries for both Dogger Bank Teesside A and Dogger Bank Teesside B were identified in 2012 to define the limits of where the offshore wind farm infrastructure can go.

Summary of key offshore components

Onshore
The offshore export cables will come to shore between Redcar and Marske-by-the-Sea in Teesside. A seven-kilometre buried HVDC cable will carry the power to two converter stations located on the Wilton Complex south-east of Middlesborough. A two-kilometre HVAC cable will then run underground to the existing National Grid substation at Lackenby, where the power will enter the national grid.

Timetable
The proposal for Dogger Bank Teesside A&B is now with the Planning Inspectorate and its indicative timetable is:

More information about the examination process can be found on the Planning Inspectorate’s website:

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