Dogger Bank Wind Farm owners, SSE Renewables and Equinor, have announced financial close on the first two phases of the project. The project is being built in three 1.2GW phases, with the first two phases being constructed at the same time to maximise the synergies resulting from their geographical proximity and make use of common technology and contractors.
As such, the two phases are being financed concurrently with all lenders participating in each phase in equal proportions. The third phase, Dogger Bank C, is being developed on a different timescale with financial close to follow at a later stage.
The final group of lenders consists of 29 banks and three export credit agencies. Dogger Bank A and B will each require total capital expenditure of around GBP3bn, including offshore transmission capex of around £800m per phase. The total senior debt facilities across the two phases is GBP4.8bn, plus ancillary facilities of around GBP0.7bn.
In September 2019, Dogger Bank Wind Farm secured the following 15-year contracts with the Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC) through the UK Government’s Contract for Difference (CfD) auction:
- Dogger Bank A (1,200MW) with a strike price of £39.65/MWh (in 2012 prices, CPI-indexed) for delivery in 2023/24.
- Dogger Bank B and C (1,200MW each) with strike prices of £41.61/MWh (in 2012 prices, CPI-indexed) for delivery in 2024/25.
Onshore construction is currently underway for Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B, with offshore construction for Dogger Bank A due to begin in Q2 2022. For both phases, onshore and offshore cable and all turbine foundations will be installed by 2023. First power is expected in Summer 2023 and Summer 2024 for Dogger Bank A and B, respectively, with commercial operations to begin the following year.