Onshore construction for the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm commences in Norfolk

Work has now commenced in Norfolk to install the underground cables and construct the substations that will enable electricity produced by the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm to be distributed into the UK National Grid electricity network.

Two underground cables will run from Weybourne on the North Norfolk coast to Necton, near Swaffham where the new electricity substations are to be built to facilitate the connection to the National Grid. At 47km in length, these will be the longest underground onshore cables yet to be installed in the UK for an offshore wind farm.

Carillion plc is the contractor responsible for undertaking the cable construction and installation; this will involve them establishing a 40 metre working corridor across farmland belonging to 44 individual landowners, all of whom have entered into agreements with Dudgeon Offshore Wind Limited.

Starting from Weybourne and working south along the construction corridor through North Norfolk and Breckland, Carillion's use of the latest duct-binding and trenching machines is designed to ensure that the work is completed by late 2015/early 2016.

At the same time, two separate substations are being built on a site adjacent to the A47 highway near Necton in the Breckland district of Norfolk. Siemens Transmission and Distribution Limited is constructing the Dudgeon Offshore Wind substation into which the two underground cables will be connected, while National Grid will be constructing and commissioning its own new facility alongside the Dudgeon substation.

The majority of the substation construction activities will be completed by April 2016, but testing and commissioning will continue until November 2016.

Olav-Bernt Haga, the Facilities Manager for the construction of the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm said: "The commencement of onshore construction activity in Norfolk this month means the project is currently on schedule, and we expect to deliver electricity generated by the first operational wind turbine to the National Grid during the first quarter of 2017."

The Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm will be located 20 miles off the coast of Cromer in North Norfolk. When completed at the end of 2017, its 67 wind turbine generators will produce sufficient electricity to power 410,000 UK homes every year.

Dudgeon Offshore Wind Limited, which holds the licenses and consents to enable it to construct the Dudgeon offshore wind farm, is owned by two Norwegian companies, Statoil and Statkraft, and Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company, Masdar. Statoil holds the responsibility as operator for both the construction and the operational phase.

Statoil is an international energy company with operations in 33 countries. Building on 40 years of experience from oil and gas production on the Norwegian continental shelf, it is committed to accommodating the world's energy needs in a responsible manner, applying technology and creating innovative business solutions. It is headquartered in Stavanger, Norway with approximately 23,000 employees worldwide, and is listed on the New York and Oslo stock exchanges.

Statkraft is Europe's largest generator of renewable energy and is the leading power company in Norway. The company owns, produces and develops hydropower, wind power, gas power and district heating. Statkraft is a major player in European power trading and has 3,600 employees in more than 20 countries.

Masdar is Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company advancing the development, commercialisation and deployment of clean energy technologies and solutions. The company serves as a link between today's fossil fuel economy and the energy economy of the future. Wholly owned by the Mubadala Development Company PJSC, the strategic investment company of the Government of Abu Dhabi, Masdar is dedicated to the Emirate's long-term vision for the future of energy and water.



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