Although still under construction in the North Sea, the 3.6 GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm has produced electricity for the first time. The first turbine at Dogger Bank A started turning in early October 2023 and the electricity produced is now being transmitted to the U.K.’s national grid via Dogger Bank’s high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system. This marks the first use of HVDC technology on a U.K. wind farm, which also happens to be the world’s largest in the offshore environment.

The initial power output followed installation of the first of GE Vernova’s Haliade-X 13 MW turbines at the site 130 km from the coast, which will host a mix of 13 MW and 14 MW Haliade-X turbines to supply about 5% of the electricity demand in the U.K. Each rotation of the first turbine’s 107 m long Haliade-X blades can produce enough energy to power an average home for two days.

Completion and full commercial operation are planned for 2026, when the 77 offshore turbines at Dogger Bank will deliver annual carbon dioxide savings equivalent to removing 1.5 million cars from the road. The project is being developed and built by a joint venture including Equinor, SSE Renewables and Vårgrønn; Equinor will be lead operator of the wind farm for its expected 35-year operational life.