client | Forewind “Having worked so thoroughly on our offshore Tranche A projects, the team from Royal HaskoningDHV is now able to build on the learning and knowledge gleaned so far for our next phase of Tranche B projects and put into practice its expertise to assist Forewind in its delivery objectives for the Dogger Bank Zone.” Gareth Lewis, Head of Offshore Development World’s largest wind farm The Dogger Bank wind farm zone, located in the In June 2010, Royal HaskoningDHV was awarded the North Sea off the coast of East Yorkshire, is potentially roles of ‘Offshore Environmental Impact Assessment the world’s largest offshore wind project. If fully (EIA) Coordinator’ for Tranche A and ‘Onshore EIA Co- developed, the 8,660km2 area could contain more ordinator’ for the first project application, via a competitive than 2,000 wind turbine generators and provide an tender. In October 2011, a framework was agreed for immense 13GW of electricity – enough to supply ten Royal HaskoningDHV to provide complete EIA services up per cent of the UK’s electricity requirements. to, and including, the final project in Tranche B, covering projects up to 6GW of capacity. Given the size of the development, the zone will be developed in a series of ‘Tranches’, each containing a Robert Staniland, Technical Director of Offshore Wind, number of projects with an overall capacity of around Royal HaskoningDHV, said: “We are naturally incredibly 3GW in each Tranche. proud for the team to be working on such a prestigious project”. The plans for the Dogger Bank zone are being developed by Forewind, a four-company consortium comprising “Royal HaskoningDHV has an enviable and proven track SSE, RWE npower renewables, and Norwegian energy record in the offshore wind market, having seen projects companies Statoil and Statkraft. As well as offshore through the consenting process, the construction phase turbines, substations and underwater cables, the zone and into operational monitoring. Our technical expertise in will also require considerable onshore infrastructure, and experience of both the offshore and onshore aspects of including converter stations, and hundreds of kilometres development allows us to forge the kind of strong client- of underground cable to export the electricity to the consultant relationships that are evidenced by this contract National Grid. with Forewind”. Originally commissioned by SSE in 2008, prior to the formal Complex and wide-ranging, the EIA and pre-application establishment of Forewind, Royal HaskoningDHV’s initial process involves initial site selection for all components role was to assist in gaining rights from The Crown Estate of onshore and offshore infrastructure, route-finding for to develop the zone under Round 3 of the UK’s offshore export cables, planning and executing survey programmes, wind licensing arrangements. undertaking data analysis and interpretation and extensive World’s largest wind farm stakeholder consultation. The EIA for the first project of “There are many challenges to successful siting and the Dogger Bank zone is currently in progress and due to construction of the onshore infrastructure. Landowners, be submitted to the Infrastructure Planning Commission tenants and communities need to be consulted and their (IPC) in December 2013. concerns addressed. Statutory consultees, such as the Environment Agency and Natural England, need to be Onshore convinced of environmental mitigations proposed, to The first project will require construction of a new correctly determine the acceptability of the project. The onshore converter station to adapt the DC electricity technical surveys and assessments required for a project produced into the AC electricity required for the National of this size are complex to coordinate, manage Grid. Around 34km of underground cable will be laid from and deliver. the coast to an existing substation at Creyke Beck, East Yorkshire. “Our dedicated Energy and Industry Team specialises in this type of development. We have excellent project Every aspect of each project will be assessed during the experience from our work on the Sheringham Shoal EIA process to ensure the development is given approval and Dudgeon Offshore Wind Projects in the design, to proceed. Rufus Howard, Director of the Renewable assessment and consenting of large scale linear Energy Team at Royal HaskoningDHV, explains: “The cable routes and substations. We consider this type development of the onshore infrastructure for the of development as our forte and have proved that Dogger Bank is an exciting challenge for the team. Our we can deliver to the expectations of our clients and consultants are involved in a large range of assessments stakeholders, on time and to budget.” including: cable route selection; the comparison of alternative sites; traffic and transport; land quality; flood risk; noise; and planning policy. Offshore Robert Staniland comments: “The Dogger Bank zone provides an excellent opportunity for offshore wind farm development. It is relatively shallow, covers a large area and, most importantly, it is windy! The Dogger Bank itself is also of importance for a number of reasons including its archaeological significance, importance for wildlife and in supporting human activity, such as commercial fisheries. The EIA process is not just about assessing isolated impacts, for example, on birds, fish and shipping; it must also understand and address the complex web of dependencies between different features of the environment – an impact on one thing can have knock-on effects on several others. “The Dogger Bank site is 125km to 290km out to sea and this distance means it is directly adjacent to the territories of other countries, requiring transboundary consultation with nations such as the Netherlands to complete the EIA. Coordinating different companies and environmental technicians to undertake complex analysis on such a large scale is a challenge we relish. “The UK government has committed to producing 20 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. Projects such as Dogger Bank are essential to achieving this target, so the team has a tight timescale. As Royal HaskoningDHV is undertaking the EIA process for both the offshore and onshore works, the process will be streamlined. The EIAs for each project will be submitted on a rolling programme up to 2014-15.” World’s largest wind farm As well as being the world’s largest offshore wind farm development, if the Dogger Bank zone reaches its full potential, it will also be one of the largest electricity generating sources of any kind in the world. Rufus Howard comments: “The development of Dogger Bank will be a huge step forward to delivering a future of clean sustainable energy for the UK. “The sheer scale of the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm zone will cement the UK’s reputation as a world leader in the field of renewable energy and it is Royal HaskoningDHV’s pleasure to be part of something that will have such an impact on energy supply in the future.” 00137-cs-mac-mo-rhdhv-0713-gb-v01-cwa United Kingdom: Alistair Davison T: +44 131 561 2298 E: [email protected] The Netherlands: Joris Truijens T: +31 88 348 2653 E: [email protected] royalhaskoningdhv.com.