Weather conditions could delay full launch of world’s largest offshore wind farm

The full opening of the world’s largest offshore wind farm, off the north-east coast of England, could be delayed, the company behind it has said.

SSE said that bad weather and delays in its supply chains could push the full operations of the Dogger Bank A site into 2025.

The wind farm had originally started producing its first power in October last year, with commercial operations set to start this year.

“However, turbine installation on Dogger Bank A has been affected by challenging weather conditions with vessel availability and supply chain delays further impacting progress,” SSE said.

“Following notification of further vessel unavailability over the coming weeks there is an increasing possibility that full operations will not be achieved until 2025, although this is not expected to materially change project returns.”

The Dogger Bank site is going to be built in three phases, each with nearly 100 wind turbines and supplying 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of wind capacity.

By 2026 it is expected to be powering around six million homes per year.

The companies behind it, SSE and Equinor, are also exploring the potential for a fourth phase, which could increase its capacity even further.

SSE separately said that 10 storms over the three months to the end of December hit the amount of renewable electricity it produced.

Output from SSE Renewables in the nine months to the end of December was around 15% below what had been planned.

Production was also hit by outages at some of its plants, the business said.

“While the quarter has seen the business navigate some short-term challenges, we reiterate and continue to focus on the delivery of our 2027 financial and operational growth targets,” said finance boss Barry O’Regan.

“The strength of our balanced business mix and the growth opportunity it provides is aligned with a policy environment which increasingly recognises the essential role renewables, electricity networks and flexible power will play in the energy system of the future.

“Our long-term strategy remains unchanged and will deliver sustainable value for shareholders and society.”