New delay to giant Dogger Bank offshore wind project
Dogger Bank A will reach full commercial operations about a year behind schedule
SSE has announced further construction delays on the giant Dogger Bank offshore wind project in the North Sea, set to be the world's largest in operation when completed.
In its interim earnings report the UK group said completion of the 1.2GW Dogger Bank A array is now expected in the second half of calendar year 2025.
Timelines have slipped on the first phase, which was supposed to reach completion this year.
In May, SSE admitted that the project would only reach full commercial operations in the first half of 2025, but stated that it expected returns on equity to remain in double digits, as targeted when final investment decisions were made.
In its interim earnings statement today (Thursday), SSE confirmed that Dogger Bank A will only reach this finalised state in the second half of next year, while stating that project returns are not expected to be materially impacted from previous guidance.
The full 3.6GW Dogger Bank project is being built in three 1.2GW phases more than 130km from the Yorkshire coast.
The SSE-led operations team faced delays, especially in the early phase of the projects, due to inclement weather and supply chain delays, especially with vessels.
Norwegian project partner Equinor stated in a July quarterly earnings that the installation delays on Dogger Bank A had forced the oil major to lower its growth forecasts for renewable power generation in 2024.
The consortium also has Vargronn – a joint venture between Eni's Plenitude unit and Norwegian private equity firm HitecVision – as a partner.
The operations team began installing foundations for the second phase, called Dogger Bank B, in May.
In its statement today, SSE described overall renewables performance for the first half as higher than previous years but in line with expectations, reflecting weather conditions across the first six months of the financial year.
The company's rising year-on-year capacity increases resulted in output of around 5.3TWh at 30 September 2024, around 44% higher when compared to the same period last year.
SSE said it was making progress on its “NZAP Plus” investment programme during the period, with completion reached on Viking onshore wind farm, the Shetland HVDC link and Slough Multifuel power station.
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