Norwegian petrol company Equinor and Irish renewable energy firm SSE Renewables have decided to explore options to expand the Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
 
The companies plan to begin early scoping work on the fourth phase of the offshore wind facility, Dogger Bank D.
 
Equinor and SSE Renewables will equally own the proposed Dogger Bank D development, which will add 1.32GW to the 3.6GW of capacity already being installed at the project.
 
SSE Renewables offshore wind director Paul Cooley said: “At SSE Renewables, we’re focussed on delivering and building a homegrown energy system for the UK that is cheaper, cleaner and more secure.
 
“We’re already building the world’s largest offshore wind farm at Dogger Bank, and now with our established partners Equinor, we’re delighted to unveil plans to develop a potential fourth phase of the project, Dogger Bank D.
 
“We’re looking forward to working together to bring this project to the attention of key stakeholders.”
 
SSE and Equinor are exploring two options for their proposed offshore facility, one of which is to connect the new facility to the grid in Lincolnshire.
 
As an alternative, the companies could use clean energy for generating green hydrogen at a dedicated electrolysis facility in the Humber region.
 
If they choose the second option, it could lead to the creation of the UK’s largest green hydrogen project.
 
The two companies aim to release an initial scoping report by next month.
 
Equinor Dogger Bank vice-president Halfdan Brustad said: “Optimising the Dogger Bank C lease area with an additional phase, Dogger Bank D, is in line with Equinor’s strategy to further develop offshore wind projects in clusters such as the North Sea.
 
“We are pleased to continue our collaboration with our partners, SSE Renewables, and work together to mature the technical scoping of this project.”