SSE Renewables and Equinor have welcomed confirmation of a grid connection location from the Electricity System Operator (ESO) for a proposed fourth phase of the Dogger Bank D offshore wind farm. Dogger Bank D will now connect to Birkhill Wood, a proposed new 400kV substation located in the East Riding of Yorkshire, which will be built as part of National Grid’s Great Grid Upgrade.
The announcement follows the publication of an impact assessment for the South Cluster by ESO, relating to energy projects that are due to be electrically connected off the east coast of England.
With the grid connection location confirmed, Dogger Bank D will now focus its attention on connecting to the electrical transmission system. The project team is undertaking a site selection process to identify potential cable corridors and where other onshore infrastructure associated with the grid connection at Birkhill Wood may be sited. Consultation will be held later this year to introduce the connection proposals to the local community.
The project is also exploring the future possibility of coordinating the development of Dogger Bank D with an Offshore Hybrid Asset between the UK and another European country’s electricity market to form a multi-purpose interconnector.
With the confirmation of an onshore grid connection location in the East Riding of Yorkshire, the option to direct the wind energy produced by Dogger Bank D towards hydrogen production, as publicly consulted on in Autumn 2023, has been retired from the project. Plans to produce green hydrogen at a dedicated onshore facility had been explored in parallel with the electrical transmission opportunity by Dogger Bank D since the announcement of the project in February 2023.
In response to the public consultation held last year, a feedback report for Dogger Bank D will be published later this month. This will contain a project update outlining the future direction for Dogger Bank D in addition to the findings from all feedback received.
