Steel made at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant in Wales is behind the world’s largest offshore wind farm due to be completed by 2026, the Indian steel major said on Wednesday.
The Dogger Bank Wind Farm, capable of providing green energy for 6 million homes in the UK, will make use of steel processed into hollow sections at the Indian steel major’s Corby and Hartlepool sites in north-east England and fabricated to build the first two phases of the wind farm.
Tata Steel said hundreds of tonnes of its products, able to endure the harsh North Sea conditions, will be used for the giant wind farm project located 130 km off the north-east coast of England.
“We are proud to be able to help support UK jobs and manufacturing through this project,” said Sandip Biswas, Chairman of the Board of Tata Steel UK.
“Huge amounts of steel will be needed to help the UK achieve its net-zero goals – to build everything from renewable energy and low-CO2 transportation to hydrogen production and distribution. At the same time, we have targets for our own decarbonisation as a steelmaker.
“Our own transition to a decarbonised future will rely on a secure supply of competitively priced renewable energy – whether that be to create hydrogen for future steelmaking or power new low-CO2 furnaces. The more we can help in delivering these landmark projects the better,” he said.
The Dogger Bank wind farm is being developed in three 1.2 gigawatt (GW) phases – Dogger Bank A, B and C.
“This is another great example of how we’re taking advantage of UK skills and expertise to build the world’s largest offshore wind farm,” said Steve Wilson, Dogger Bank Wind Farm Project Director.
“Our transition pieces are among the largest to be installed on an offshore wind farm, and this UK-manufactured steel will form some of the supporting components,” he said.
Dogger Bank A and B is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40 per cent), Equinor (40 per cent) and Eni (20 per cent).
In November 2021, SSE Renewables and Equinor, 50-50 joint venture partners in Dogger Bank C, announced Eni will take a 20 per cent stake in the final phase, with SSE Renewables and Equinor maintaining 40 per cent stakes each, in a deal which is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2022 subject to regulatory approvals.
In the first two phases of construction the vast GE Renewable Energy turbines, each one rated at 13 megawatts (MW) – enough to power a home for two days with a single rotation – will sit on foundations featuring Tata Steel products used in safety-critical transitions pieces. These steel structures form the junction between the tower above the surface of the sea and the foundations below the water.
Fabrication companies Sif and Smulders were awarded contracts to provide the wind turbine foundations for the first two phases of Dogger Bank in November last year, with Dogger Bank C awarded a year later.
Tata Steel is one of Europe’s leading steel producers, with steelmaking in the Netherlands and the UK, and manufacturing plants across Europe. The company supplies high-quality steel products to the most demanding markets, including construction and infrastructure, automotive, packaging and engineering. The work for the wind farm is being carried out by one of its many contract companies.
