First turbine installed at Dudgeon
Saturday night the first of 67 wind turbines was installed at the Dudgeon offshore Windfarm off Norfolk, UK. And it happened exactly according to plan.
The installation vessel Sea Challenger behind the very first turbine installed at the Dudgeon field.
(Photo:Byron Price, captain on the crew transport vessel Rix Leopard)
Sea Challenger quayside in Hull
(Photo: Eva Sleire/Statoil)
Nacelles for Dudgeon awaiting the next load out
(Photo; Eva Sleire/Statoil)
Nacelles for Dudgeon awaiting the next load out
(Photo; Eva Sleire/Statoil)
The turbine was installed by the vessel Sea Challenger from A2Sea, that sailed away from the new Green Port in Hull, England on 5 January.
More than four years ago the project set the date 2 January for start of the load out operations, and they hit that date spot on.
The vessel carries 12 giant wind turbine blades nicely placed in a huge rack. They are 75 metres long with an aerodynamic and slim design to create as much wind power as possible.
The huge towers, and the just as impressive nacelles, the hub of the wind turbines, will also be lifted onto the vessel. The inside of each of the nacelles is large enough to fit two typical London double-decker buses, one after the other.
On the Dudgeon Bank 67 foundations were installed last year, along with the cables and the offshore substation that collects the power generated by the wind turbines. This work involved as much as 2000 vessel days and almost the same number is anticipated this year.
Cables from the landfall in Weybourne to the new substation in Necton have been laid, ready to transmit the very first kilowatts of wind power to the UK market.
New Facility
Hitting the date that was set four years earlier is an impressive achievement in itself. It is even more impressive that the load-out is made from a completely new facility. Many years ago the port of Hull was a fishing port, but lately it has been modernized and upgraded to supply the offshore wind industry. Siemens has also built a new turbine blade factory on site, offering several hundred new jobs to a region that needs them badly.
Starting on 2 January 2017, the load-out was not only the first by the Dudgeon project, but also the very first from the port.
On 5 January the Sea Challenger sailed to the Dudgeon field carrying components to the first four turbines – four towers, four nacelles and 12 blades. Two days later the first turbine was installed and in the course of this month it will be connected and will start producing electricity.
One by one this year the 67 turbines will be installed, connected and start producing electricity. Each individual turbine will have the capacity to power 6000 UK homes.
Issue date: 08-01-17