The largest offshore jack-up installation vessel ever built, Voltaire, recently pulled into the port of Able Seaton, United Kingdom. Voltaire of the Jan De Nul Group was delivered at the end of 2022. Since then she has been undertaking final preparations for her very first assignment: the construction of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, phases A, B and C.
In total, the vessel will be responsible for installing 277 units, making the combination of these three wind farm phases the largest offshore production facility in the world. Voltaire will sail out in early July to install the very first GE Haliade-X offshore wind turbine.
The 3.6 GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm is being built off the East Coast of England in three 1.2 GW phases: Dogger Bank A, B and C. It is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Vargronn (20%). SSE Renewables is leading on the development and construction. Equinor will operate the wind farm on completion for its expected operational life of around 35 years. Once completed in 2026, it will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
“With its lifting capacity of more than 6 million pounds and ultra-low emissions design, we can’t wait to see this next generation vessel take on the challenge of installing some of the world’s largest and most powerful turbines, as we head towards first power for Dogger Bank A this summer,” says Olly Cass, Dogger Bank Wind Farm project director. When complete, Dogger Bank will generate enough energy to power up to 6 million UK homes every year.
