Equinor : Hundreds more green UK jobs created by delivery of Dogger Bank Wind Farm

Thursday 13 May 2021: Dogger Bank Wind Farm and GE Renewable Energy have today announced they have finalised contracts for the supply of turbines and a five-year service and warranty agreement for Dogger Bank C, confirming a total of 87 units of the 14MW Haliade-X turbine for the third and final phase of the world's largest offshore wind farm.

Dogger Bank Wind Farm has confirmed GE Renewable Energy will supply and install 277 units of its ground-breaking Haliade-X turbine at the project following finalisation of all turbine supply and service contracts for what will be the world's biggest offshore wind farm. As a result GE expects to create up to 470 green jobs for the UK in support of the delivery and operation of all three phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm. These new roles bring the total number of UK jobs that will be created to support the delivery and operation of Dogger Bank Wind Farm to almost 3,000 so far.

Picture source: GE Renewable Energy.

These contract awards, which are subject to Dogger Bank C reaching Financial Close in late 2021, mean GE Renewable Energy is now confirmed to supply a total of 277 units of its ground-breaking Haliade-X turbine to all three phases of this world-class renewable energy project to be constructed off the north-east coast of England.

Dogger Bank C is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (50%) and Equinor (50%) while Dogger Bank A and B are owned by SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Eni (20%).

With the completion of all turbine supply and service contracts for the 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm, GE Renewable Energy has increased its estimate of UK green jobs it expects to create in support of the delivery and operation of all three phases of the project to around 470 - almost twice the 240 estimate announced last September.

These new roles bring the total number of UK jobs that will be created to support the delivery and operation of Dogger Bank Wind Farm to almost 3,000 so far.

As previously announced, the A and B phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be the first to install GE's Haliade-X 13 MW, following a record-breaking order for 190 turbines. Today's announcement confirms an additional order of 87 upscaled Haliade-X 14 MW turbines for Dogger Bank C. Turbine installation for Dogger Bank C is set to begin in 2025 ahead of completion of the overall project in 2026. The contracts mark the first commercial commitment for this ground-breaking turbine, as well as the first time ever a 14MW Haliade-X will be installed in the world. One spin of the Haliade-X can generate enough electricity to power a UK household for more than two days.

SSE Renewables is leading on the construction and delivery of all three phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm. Equinor will operate Dogger Bank Wind Farm on completion.

Steve Wilson, SSE Renewables Project Director for Dogger Bank Wind Farm, said: "This is an exciting milestone and marks our continued progress towards financial close for the third phase of the wind farm, expected later this year. We're particularly proud that through our confirmation with GE of turbine contracts for the delivery of all three phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm, the project will be responsible for the creation of hundreds more green UK jobs, both during construction and through to servicing. We now look forward to continuing our close collaboration with GE on this phase of the project and to demonstrating how the impressive Haliade-X technology can be installed safely, efficiently, and on a significant scale for the first time, during delivery of our world-class offshore wind project."

John Lavelle, President & CEO of GE Renewable Energy's Offshore Wind Business said: "We are delighted to have passed yet another milestone in our collaboration with Dogger Bank with the finalization of the supply and service contracts for Dogger Bank C. Bringing the Haliade-X 14 MW to the third phase of the project proves that GE has the technology and know-how to address the fast-paced changes in the offshore industry. With all contracts signed, we are now looking forward to the next phases of our collaboration with Dogger Bank. Together, we will make a big contribution to the ever-accelerating energy transition in the UK."

Halfdan Brustad, vice president for Dogger Bank at Equinor, said: "This contract award represents much more than good progress on the project. It shows innovation, confirming Dogger Bank will be the first project to install the latest models of powerful turbines. It shows how Dogger Bank is creating highly skilled jobs in the North of England, across the construction and operation phases of the wind farm. It shows continuation of a strong, collaborative relationship between us and our partners, SSE Renewables, and our supplier GE Renewable Energy. Dogger Bank is truly a world-leading project and we look forward to working with our partners and suppliers to deliver this project to the UK."

The 470 jobs being announced today by GE to support delivery of Dogger Bank A, B and C are almost twice the number of roles which the company said last September it expected to create associated with turbine installation and servicing.

The increased estimate of 470 roles is made up of around 300 skilled roles for installation and commissioning activities across all three consecutive phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm and 170 servicing roles under GE's five-year Service and Warranty Agreements for Dogger Bank phases A, B and C.

The 300 construction roles will be based out of locations across the north-east of England to be announced by GE in due course and include the 120 construction jobs already announced at Able Seaton Port in Hartlepool.

GE's 170 full-time turbine servicing jobs for Dogger Bank phases A, B and C will be based out of the Port of Tyne. These jobs include the 120 servicing roles previously confirmed by GE last September for phases A and B of Dogger Bank, plus an additional 50 new roles thanks to the five-year Service and Warranty Agreement for Dogger Bank C. GE's full-service agreements will begin as each phase of the wind farm is commissioned, beginning with Dogger Bank A in late 2023.

GE Renewable Energy has already commenced recruitment for some of these roles, and is currently hiring for its early works team, with more opportunities to follow. Full details of current available opportunities can be found at GE Renewable Energy's Careers Website.

A total of 200 roles will be needed to operate and maintain Dogger Bank Wind Farm. Under the five-year Service and Warranty Agreements, 170 of these will initially be employed by GE Renewable Energy. The remainder of operational and maintenance roles will be employed by wind farm operator Equinor and will include management, engineers, planners, administration and health and safety personnel. All Equinor and GE personnel will be co-located at Dogger Bank's operations base at Port of Tyne for the five-year duration of the Service and Warranty Agreements.

Dogger Bank Wind Farm is located over 130 km off the north-east coast of England and each phase will be able to produce 6TWh of renewable electricity, totalling 18TWh annually, when complete in 2026, equivalent to powering six million UK homes each year or around 5% of the UK's electricity demand. Due to its size and scale, the site is being built in three consecutive phases; Dogger Bank A, Dogger Bank B and Dogger Bank C.

For further information:
Media contact - Dogger Bank Wind Farm:
Richard Holligan, SSE Renewables
[e-mail]
[phone]

Media contact - Dogger Bank Wind Farm:
Rachel Lawrence, SSE Renewables
[e-mail]
[phone]

Media contact - GE Renewable Energy:
Sebastien Duchamp
[e-mail]
[phone]

About Dogger Bank Wind Farm:

• The 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be the world's largest offshore wind farm when completed in 2026.
• It is being built in three 1.2GW phases: Dogger Bank A, B and C.
• Dogger Bank A and B is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Eni (20%). Dogger Bank C is a 50:50 joint venture between Equinor and SSE Renewables.
• SSE Renewables is lead operator for the development and construction of Dogger Bank Wind Farm. Equinor will be lead operator of the wind farm for the duration of the wind farm's operational phase
• Financial Close on Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B was reached in November 2020.
• Financial Close for Dogger Bank C is expected in late 2021.
• Consent for Dogger Bank Wind Farm was granted in 2015.
• Each of the three phases of Dogger Bank Wind Farm secured 15-year CfD contracts for 1.2GW of low carbon power for of low carbon power production in the UK's third CfD Allocation Round, announced September 2019.
• In May 2021, Dogger Bank Wind Farm took another major step forward after passing a required delivery milestone under the UK's Contracts for Difference scheme for low carbon power.
• Dogger Bank Wind Farm is located in the North Sea, with each phase more than 130km from the Yorkshire Coast.
• Onshore construction began in 2020 and is currently underway for Dogger Bank A and Dogger Bank B, with offshore construction on Dogger Bank A due to begin in Q2 2022. First power is expected in Summer 2023 and Summer 2024 for Dogger Bank A and B, respectively, with commercial operations to follow around 6 months later.
• Turbine installation for Dogger Bank C will begin in 2025.
• Almost 3000 new UK jobs have been announced so far that will be supported by the construction and operation of Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
• These include up to 750 direct and around 1,500 indirect jobs associated with the set-up of a new world-class blade manufacturing facility on Teesside by LM Wind Power, a GE Renewable Energy business, with production due to start in 2023.
• 470 jobs are expected to be recruited by GE Renewable Energy across the north east of England in support of the delivery and operation of all three phases of the project. These will be made up of around 300 skilled roles for turbine installation and commissioning activities and 170 servicing roles at Port of Tyne under GE's five-year Service and Warranty Agreements for Dogger Bank phases A, B and C once operational.
• At least a further 30 roles will be hired by Equinor as operator of the wind farm, based at the Port of Tyne or offshore.
• 130 new full-time UK-based jobs will be created by North Star Renewables in crewing and shore-based roles for the operation of the three-vessel service fleet for Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
• Up to 100 peak construction jobs will be created by Jones Bros. Civil Engineering, one of the UK's leading civil engineering contractors, on the installation of onshore cable infrastructure for Dogger Bank A and B.
• Dogger Bank A and B has confirmed GE's Haliade-X 13MW as the turbine powering the first two phases of the project. As the first order for the Haliade-X 13MW, installation at Dogger Bank A will be the first time the turbine is installed in the world.
• Installation of GE's upscaled Haliade-X 14MW turbine at Dogger Bank C will be the first time the 14MW turbine is installed in the world.
• One rotation of the Haliade-X turbine blades can power one UK home for more than two days.
• The wind turbines will be installed on monopile foundations.
• The project will be the first High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) connected wind farm in the UK due to its distance from shore, introducing new transmission systems to the UK and paving the way for other large offshore wind farms.
• For more information about Dogger Bank Wind Farm visit www.doggerbank.com

About SSE Renewables
SSE Renewables is a leading developer, owner and operator of renewable energy across the UK and Ireland, with a portfolio of around 4GW of onshore wind, offshore wind and hydro. Part of the FTSE-listed SSE plc, its strategy is to drive the transition to a net zero future through the world class development, construction and operation of renewable energy assets.

SSE Renewables is building more offshore wind energy than any other company in the world right now. It is currently constructing the world's largest offshore wind farm, the 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the North Sea, a joint venture with Equinor, as well as Scotland's largest offshore wind farm, the 1.1GW Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm in the Firth of Forth, which is a joint venture with Total. It also has the largest offshore wind development pipeline across the UK and Ireland at over 7GW, of which around 776MW is already consented. Its operational offshore wind portfolio consists of 487MW across two offshore joint venture sites, Beatrice and Greater Gabbard, both of which it operates on behalf of its asset partners.

SSE Renewables owns nearly 2GW of operational onshore wind capacity with over 1GW under development including Viking Wind Farm in Shetland, which will be the UK's most productive onshore wind farm in terms of annual electricity output.

SSE Renewables is the leading generator of hydro energy in the UK with an operational portfolio of 1,459MW including 300MW of pumped storage and 750MW of flexible hydro. It is progressing the first large-scale pumped storage scheme to be developed in the UK for more than 30 years, the 1,500MW Coire Glas scheme. Fully consented, Coire Glas would have a pumped storage energy capacity of up to 30GWh, more than doubling Britain's current storage capacity.

SSE Renewables is a Principal Partner to the UK Government in the run up to and during the COP26 UN climate summit in November 2021.

About Equinor in the UK
Equinor has been operating in the UK for over 35 years. Headquartered in Norway, the company employs 22,000 people globally, and over 650 in the UK. As a broad energy company, Equinor is committed to long term value creation in a low carbon future, and targeting carbon neutral operations globally by 2030.

Equinor is the UK's leading energy provider and supports the UK economy by investing billions in crucial energy infrastructure, working with over 700 suppliers across the country. Its energy supplies from Norway meet more than one quarter of the UK's demand for natural gas and around one fifth of its demand for oil, both produced with one of the lowest carbon footprints in the industry. It operates the Mariner oil field, one of the largest and most digitally advanced offshore investments in the UK over the last decade, and is progressing Rosebank, the largest undeveloped field in the UK.

Both projects support hundreds of jobs and economic activity in Scotland. Equinor also operates two offshore wind farms off the East Coast of England, Dudgeon and Sheringham Shoal. It is a pioneer in floating wind technology with Hywind Scotland, the world's first floating wind farm off the coast of Peterhead, which is partnered with Batwind, the world's first battery for offshore wind. And with its partner SSE Renewables, Equinor is building the largest offshore wind farm in the world, Dogger Bank, off the North East coast of England. It is also a leader in both carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) and hydrogen, and is developing a number of projects in Europe, including in the Humber and Teesside regions of North East England.

About Eni
Eni is an energy company operating in 66 countries worldwide and employing around 32,000 people. The company operates in oil and gas exploration, development and production, refining and marketing, trading and shipping, chemical, renewable energies and innovative solutions in circular economy. Eni's mission is inspired by the UN 2030 Agenda and these values are reflected in its business model, itself based on three pillars of long-term carbon neutrality, operational excellence and the creation of alliances for local development.

The new Eni is based on efficiency, integration and the deployment of new technologies.

Decarbonisation is structurally embedded in our overall strategy and ambitions and in Sustainalytics' last update as of September 2020, Eni has achieved an ESG Risk Rating score of 25.7, ranking in the top 3% amongst its peers in the Energy Sector.

Eni has set the next intermediate target for renewables in 2035, when the company will generate 25 GW of installed capacity from renewable sources.

Eni is active in the UK as operator of the Liverpool Bay Area project in NW England, for which it was recently awarded a CO2 appraisal and storage licence by the Oil and Gas Authority.

Eni, together with BP, Equinor, National Grid, Shell and Total, has formed the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP), with BP as operator. The partnership aims to develop offshore CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure that will serve the two decarbonisation projects of the industrial clusters of NE England: Net Zero Teesside (of Which Eni is partner, and Zero Carbon Humber.

The two projects plan the combined capture and storage of climate-changing emissions from industrial sites and power plants, and the development of market for low emission hydrogen production (blue hydrogen).

UK authority consider this kind of project vital to support the Country's effort to cut by 50% industrial emissions by 2030, while at the same time providing new jobs for the local communities.

About GE Renewable Energy
GE Renewable Energy is a $15.7 billion business which combines one of the broadest portfolios in the renewable energy industry to provide end-to-end solutions for our customers demanding reliable and affordable green power. Combining onshore and offshore wind, blades, hydro, storage, utility-scale solar, and grid solutions as well as hybrid renewables and digital services offerings, GE Renewable Energy has installed more than 400 gigawatts of clean renewable energy and equipped more than 90 percent of utilities worldwide with its grid solutions. With nearly 40,000 employees present in more than 80 countries, GE Renewable Energy creates value for customers seeking to power the world with affordable, reliable and sustainable green electrons.

Follow us at www.ge.com/renewableenergy, on twitter.com/GErenewables or on www.linkedin.com/company/gerenewableenergy.