Two adjoining offshore wind farm projects that together marked the start of their onshore construction with an official ground-breaking by Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen and Jacob Young, MP for Redcar 7 July.The separate wind farm projects, Sofia and Dogger Bank C, are sited on Dogger Bank in the middle of the North Sea, more than 190 kilometres from the North East coast. The power they produce will be transmitted by export cables that arrive on shore between Redcar and Marske-by-the-Sea, in Teesside.
Despite different ownership - Sofia is owned by RWE Renewables while Dogger Bank C, the third phase of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, is owned 50/50 by SSE Renewables and Equinor – the projects are cooperating closely due to their proximity and to reduce impacts on local stakeholders.
The Mayor and MP joined management from both projects plus from landowner Sembcorp Energy UK at the site of the onshore converter stations, adjacent to Wilton International, to officially kick-off the work and have an early tour of the site.
The early phase of site activity is being carried out by contractor Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK and will continue for the rest of the year in readiness for the arrival of the converter station contractors in 2022. The work to construct both the converter stations will take around four years and is due to be completed in 2025.