Proactive Investors - Dogger Bank, set to become the world’s largest offshore wind farm, has produced power for the first time, co-developer SSE PLC (LON:SSE) said on Tuesday.
The first of the site's 277 turbines off the coast of Yorkshire began producing energy on Saturday, SSE said, with the farm poised to produce enough electricity to power six million homes once complete.
“It’s fantastic to see the world's largest wind farm [...] generating power for the first time today from UK water,” prime minister Rishi Sunak commented.
“Offshore wind is critical to generating renewable, efficient energy.”
Each General Electric (NYSE:GE) Vernova Haliade-X 13MW turbine at the site has the potential to produce enough energy to power a home for two days from just one rotation, according to SSE.
SSE chief executive Alistair-Phillips Davies pointed to the “massive scale” of the project, adding: “This is exactly how we should be responding to the energy crisis.”
Norway’s Equinor and Vårgrønn are also co-developing the project, which is due to be fully operational by 2026 as each turbine is commissioned.
First power from the site marks positive news for the offshore wind sector, after what has been a difficult year due to rising costs.
In July, developer Vattenfall shelved plans for the 1.4GW Norfolk Boreas project due to difficult market conditions.
The UK’s latest contract for difference round was then confirmed to have failed to receive any bids from offshore developers in September, prompting calls for reform.
Industry body Energy UK echoed these calls on Tuesday’s news, commenting: “We can be proud of the UK's long-standing commitment to offshore wind.
“If we want to maintain this leading position [...] it’s vital that government works with industry to maximise capacity from the future CfD allocation rounds in a manner that is reflective of the significant change of market conditions.”
Shares in SSE climbed 2% to 1,558.50p on Tuesday morning.