Dudgeon offshore wind farm officially opened

Statoil and partners Masdar and Statkraft have officially opened the Dudgeon offshore wind power farm in Great Yarmouth.

Since the investment decision was made in 2014, construction costs have been reduced by more than 15%, from £1.5 billion to approximately £1.25 billion.

All 67 turbines at the 402MW Dudgeon offshore wind farm are now delivering electricity to the UK grid, providing renewable energy to around 410,000 homes.

Dudgeon is located 40 kilometres off the coast of Norfolk. Local suppliers account for more than 40% of the value creation in the Dudgeon project.

As operator of both the Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon offshore wind farms, located in the same area, Statoil’s priority is to improve efficiency further and increase collaboration between projects.

Towards 2030 it is estimated that the installed capacity of offshore wind in Europe can grow from 12GW (2016) to 70 GW. Improved technology, increased deployment and lower costs are the key drivers turning offshore wind into an attractive power source, outcompeting traditional sources of energy in important markets.

Statoil already has a sizeable renewables portfolio. Its current offshore wind portfolio has the capacity to provide more than one million homes with renewable energy. This includes the Sheringham Shoal wind farm in England, the Arkona offshore wind farm in Germany and Hywind Scotland, the world’s first floating offshore wind farm, which came into production in October.

The operations centre and maintenance base for the Dudgeon offshore wind farm is located in Great Yarmouth.