DRONES and robots are likely to play a key role in running the Dogger Bank Wind Farm – the world’s biggest offshore wind project, being built off the North East coast – to make it as efficient and safe as possible.

Yesterday, 80 supply chain companies got together in Newcastle to discuss how to improve efficiency and safety by using robotics and automation for maintenance and operations on the giant 3.6-gigawatt wind farm.

Big enough to power six million homes when all three of its turbine clusters go fully online in 2026, Dogger Bank is already set to push new boundaries of offshore power automation in its search for pioneering technology and new applied thinking.

For example, it will include an unmanned offshore sub-station – an offshore wind industry first – and its power will be brought ashore through innovative high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cables, designed to overcome the electrical resistance problems of transferring high power over long distances, which traditional alternating-current (AC) cables struggle with.

But project leaders are keen to come up with still more technical ‘firsts’ over its lifespan, and yesterday’s innovation event, held at the National Innovation Centre for Data in Newcastle and delivered by UK energy business development organisation NOF, was part of that consistent ‘brain-storming’ approach.

It brought together technical innovators from industry organisations, such as the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, North East England’s offshore wind cluster Energi Coast, the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership and the Dogger Bank operations team.

They took part in four workshops to identify ideas and innovations in offshore wind, focused on:

• blade inspection, maintenance and repair
• subsea survey and inspections
• topside (above water) inspections (excluding blades)
• maximising uptime through safe and efficient operations

A Dogger Bank spokesman said: “These [workshops] were really engaging and we have lots of follow-up actions for us and our main suppliers.

“The main discussions were around the use of drones and other robots to carry out inspection. Our aim is to reduce risks, cost, time and to improve safety.

“This builds on some use cases, but the robotics journey is really only just starting in offshore wind.”

The overarching aim was to improve operational efficiencies not only on the flagship £9billion project, but also others around the world.

Dogger Bank Wind Farm will begin generating power in 2023, from its first phase – Dogger Bank A – and go on to provide about 5% of the UK’s entire energy needs by 2026, when phases B and C will also both be online.

Mark Halliday, operations director for Dogger Bank, said: “We are committed to providing opportunities to businesses throughout the operational phase of the wind farm and we see robotics as an area that can support development of a competitive UK supply chain.

“There is also a great opportunity to transfer technologies from other industries and the event is designed to help suppliers enter offshore wind from adjacent sectors, such as oil-and-gas and automotive, which are already strengths of the region.”

In addition to offshore wind sector partners, the event also includes representatives from Dogger Bank Tier 1 suppliers for the operations phase, including North Star Renewables and GE.

The operations team will have a focus on inspection, maintenance and repair using robotics – both above and below the seabed – as well as to improve safety and operational efficiencies. There will also be a focus on key components, including turbine blade inspection.

Tony Quinn, Energi Coast chair said: “Events like this one really bring home the value of having Equinor and their JV partners embedded in our region as well as one of the world’s largest wind farms on our virtual doorstep.

“For technology developers to have such ready access to ‘end users’ significantly reduces their time and cost of bringing new and innovative products to market.

“Technology which helps to further our understanding of offshore wind, through remote inspection, condition monitoring or, indeed, maintenance will ultimately drive improved reliability and improved safety by removing the need for manual intervention.”

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Dogger Bank: an international undertaking

• Dogger Bank Wind Farm is located more than 130km off the North East coast and is being delivered by joint venture partners SSE Renewables (the Perth-based renewables subsidiary of SSE plc) and Equinor (Norway’s biggest oil company, which is an international operator now developing into renewable energy) and Vårgrønn (a Norwegian offshore wind developer), which owns 20%.
  
• SSE Renewables is leading on construction and delivery, while Equinor will operate the wind farm on completion. Both companies own 40% of the project, while Vårgrønn owns the remaining 20%.
  
• Dogger Bank is being built in three consecutive 1.2-gigawatt phases; Dogger Bank A, Dogger Bank B and Dogger Bank C.
  
• When complete, the wind farm will include 277 giant turbines, in the three clusters – each with blades 107 metres long – that’s twice the wingspan of the Gateshead Angel of the North.
  
• Each turbine – manufactured by GE and known as a ‘Haliade-X’ – will stand 260 metres above the waves at its tallest point, dwarfing London’s Big Ben and only about 60 meters shorter than the Eiffel Tower.
  
• The turbines are being installed by a specially-built vessel called the Voltaire, which is even taller than the Eiffel Tower
  
• The operations and maintenance base, from which Dogger Bank will be managed, is based at the Port of Tyne complex and is due to open soon.

You can read more fascinating facts about Dogger Bank on its official website here.