World's largest wind farm confirms 320 jobs to be created for construction and operations

The construction of the world’s largest offshore wind farm is set to create 240 new “green jobs” for the North East of England.

Dogger Bank, which was announced earlier this year, will create 120 skilled jobs at Able Seaton Port in Hartlepool during its construction phase.

It will also create a further 120 jobs offshore and at the Port of Tyne for operations and maintenance once the wind farm is completed.

This comes as the wind farm confirms GE’s 13MW Haliade-X as the turbine powering the first two phases of the project.

The jobs bring the total created by the project to 320 so far.

Dogger Bank Wind Farm is a joint venture between SSE Renewables, who are leading the construction of the wind farm, and Equinor, who will operate the 3.6GW project during its lifetime of at least 25 years.

The project is located over 130km off England’s North East coast and will be capable of powering up to 4.5 UK million homes each year when complete in 2026.

Kwasi Kwarteng, UK Energy Minister, commented: “I am thrilled to see so many green jobs on the way to the North East of England thanks to our world-leading offshore wind industry.

“Projects like Dogger Bank are absolutely crucial to building back greener from the coronavirus pandemic – creating jobs, growing the economy and tackling climate change.

“I look forward to watching its progress in the months and years ahead.”

Steve Wilson, Dogger Bank Wind Farm’s Project Director at SSE Renewables, said: “Signing the contract with GE Renewable Energy is not just great news for Dogger Bank and GE, but for the wider offshore wind industry, marking the first time a 13MW turbine will be installed in the world.

“In addition to this, today’s announcement will bring huge economic benefits to the North East of England, where 120 skilled jobs will be created during construction of the windfarm, along with 120 skilled jobs during the maintenance phase.

“These turbines are a true testament of how hard the offshore wind industry is working to continually innovate and drive down costs and we look forward to working with GE Renewable Energy to help us deliver the largest offshore wind farm in the world.”

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