Statoil opens the Dudgeon Operations Centre in Great Yarmouth
Statoil officially opens the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm Operations Centre in Great Yarmouth today as part of the Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival.
The former warehouse on the south bank of the river harbour has been completely redeveloped to accommodate offices and a dedicated 24/7 control room to manage the operations and maintenance of the £1.5 billion Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm. Once into operation in 2017 more than 70 people will be working full time with operation and maintenance of the wind farm at the onshore base or at the offshore site.
Today's opening event will also incorporate the naming of the wind farm's purpose built 84-metre service operations vessel, Esvagt Njord. The vessel marks a new approach to operations and maintenance with accommodation for up to 40 wind turbine technicians who will live on the ship and walk to work on the turbines via a special gangway system.
The Head of Statoil Wind Operations UK Rune Rønvik is very pleased with reaching this milestone: “The location for the O&M base is ideal and we have a purpose built office ideal for our operations. In a wider perspective Statoil may serve other wind farms from this Great Yarmouth base. Already it has been made a principle decision to provide Hywind Scotland – the new pilot wind farm of floating wind turbines currently under construction for installation off the east coast of Scotland – with technical O&M support and control room services from here.”
Rune Rønvik is also pleased with the new vessel: “We are the first offshore windfarm in the UK using a service operations vessel in regular operations and maintenance. We believe this is a solution for the future as the wind farms get bigger and are located further from shore”.
The Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm can supply more than 410,000 UK homes. The 402MW offshore wind farm will be located some 20 miles off the coast of the seaside town of Cromer in North Norfolk.
Statoil is developing the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm and will continue as its operator when it starts generating electricity in early 2017.
Dudgeon Offshore Wind Limited, which holds the licenses and consents to enable it to construct the Dudgeon offshore wind farm, is owned by two Norwegian companies, Statoil and Statkraft, and Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company, Masdar. Statoil holds the responsibility as operator for both the construction and the operational phase.
Statoil is an international energy company with operations in 33 countries. Building on 40 years of experience from oil and gas production on the Norwegian continental shelf, it is committed to accommodating the world's energy needs in a responsible manner, applying technology and creating innovative business solutions. It is headquartered in Stavanger, Norway with approximately 23,000 employees worldwide, and is listed on the New York and Oslo stock exchanges.
Statkraft is Europe's largest generator of renewable energy and is the leading power company in Norway. The company owns, produces and develops hydropower, wind power, gas power and district heating. Statkraft is a major player in European power trading and has 3,600 employees in more than 20 countries.
Masdar is Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company advancing the development, commercialisation and deployment of clean energy technologies and solutions. The company serves as a link between today’s fossil fuel economy and the energy economy of the future. Wholly owned by the Mubadala Development Company PJSC, the strategic investment company of the Government of Abu Dhabi, Masdar is dedicated to the Emirate’s long-term vision for the future of energy and water.
For further information please contact:
Nigel Tompkins [the Norfolk contact for media and community enquiries].
New Ideas for Business
T: 01263 822427
M: 07860 206565
E: nigel@ni4b.co.uk
or
Elin Isaksen
Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm project
T:+47 480 91183
E: media@dudgeonoffshorewind.co.uk
Issue date: 09-09-16