J Murphy & Sons has been selected to design and build two 7km onshore cable ducts for both the 1400MW Sofia and 1200MW Dogger Bank C offshore wind projects.
Sofia and Dogger C are the world’s biggest wind farm projects currently under construction. They are located on the Dogger Bank, more than 195km from the North East coast of England, with their export cables coming to shore in Teesside.
Once fully operational, the two projects will generate enough power to supply the entire north east’s annual electricity needs.
Sofia is 100% owned by RWE, and Dogger Bank Wind Farm is a joint venture between SSE Renewables, Equinor, and Eni.
The projects’ offshore HVDC export cables will connect to onshore cables that will run to a new converter station – one for each project – now under construction to the North East of Lazenby.
Each project will have a further 2km of HVAC cables to transport power to the existing National Grid substation at Lackenby, where it will enter the national grid.
The main scope of Murphy’s contract includes detailed engineering and design for the works, ecological management, civil infrastructure installation, and engineering and installation of crossings.
The main civils works will commence in March 2022 and run through until the end of 2024.
Jon Downs, Murphy’s energy division managing director, said: “We are delighted to be appointed as the High Voltage Cable Civils delivery partner for two of the country’s most important strategic renewable energy projects.
“As Murphy Energy, we are committed to helping our customers accelerate the clean energy transition on our journey towards Net Zero and to deliver 40GW by 2030.
“These projects are a key element of this journey and we are excited to be playing such a pivotal role in their delivery.”
Sofia project director Matthew Swanwick added: “The appointment of Murphy marks another significant milestone for the project and the start of the cable route civils works will signal a new and visible phase of onshore construction.”
Dogger Bank Wind Farm onshore work package manager for the third phase of the project, Stephen Reynolds, said: “We welcome Murphy and look forward to working with them, alongside Sofia Offshore Wind Farm, as we develop the onshore infrastructure for these significant renewable energy projects.”
Image credit: esbobeldijk/Shutterstock
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