SSE Renewables and joint venture partner Equinor have reached financial close on the first two phases of what will be the world's biggest offshore wind farm.

The two companies are proceeding with the first two phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, a ground-breaking project off the north east coast of England which, once all three phases are complete in March 2026, will be the largest in the world.

Each phase has a capacity of 1,200MW and will generate around 6,000GWh annually. In total, Dogger Bank will produce enough clean, renewable electricity to supply 5% of the UK's demand, equivalent to powering six million UK homes each year.

The funding of the development of Dogger Bank A and B represents the largest ever offshore wind project financing anywhere in the world and SSE's expected equity investment forms part of its £7.5 billion investment programme to March 2025, the renewables element of which will double its renewables output by 2025.

Total investment in the first two phases of the project will be around £6 billion and has already secured the creation of 320 new skilled jobs for the North East of England associated with the development and operation of the wind farm, with more to come as construction ramps up.

-- Advertisement --

Dogger Bank Wind Farm is the largest of SSE Renewables' projects currently in construction. SSE Renewables is currently also leading the construction of the Seagreen offshore wind farm (1,075MW, SSE Renewables share 49%), which will be Scotland's largest on completion, and the wholly-owned Viking wind farm (443MW), the UK's most productive onshore wind farm. Together these flagship renewable energy projects are driving SSE Renewables' significant growth to 2025 and demonstrate the quality and value of its development portfolio.

Alistair Philips-Davies, SSE Chief Executive, said: "We are proud to be leading on the construction and development of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which has been 10 years in the making. We are putting our money where our mouth is on delivering net zero and reinforcing the UK's position as a world leader. This investment will help drive a green recovery from coronavirus through the project's construction over the next five years, creating jobs and boosting the local economy.

"Achieving financial close for the first two phases of the world's largest wind farm is a huge accomplishment and, alongside reaching Seagreen 1 financial close earlier this year, represents significant progress towards achieving our goal of trebling our renewable output by 2030."

Pål Eitrheim, Equinor EVP of New Energy Solutions, said: "Reaching financial close on the two first phases of Dogger Bank is a major milestone, demonstrating our commitment to profitable growth within offshore wind. The extensive interest from lenders, underpins the attractiveness of UK offshore wind assets and confidence in SSE and Equinor. As the wind farm's future operator, we are proud to take this big step forward in delivering what will be the backbone of a growing wind hub in the North Sea. Through the sheer scale of the project we have delivered record-low contract prices for the UK market, and as operator of the wind farm we will continue to deliver value to the UK for years to come."