It was a great evening for our North East team at the Constructing Excellence Awards. Having been shortlisted in three categories, they were winners in two – scooping the Net Zero and Sustainability awards for their work on the Operations and Maintenance facility for Dogger Bank Wind Farm.
Based on the Port of Tyne, Dogger Bank’s new O&M base saw the team work with our group company B&K Structures, to provide one of the best workplaces in the North East – a CLT and glulam hybrid scheme designed to achieve net zero carbon.
Structural timber – as an accurate, sustainable and speedy offsite construction method – was the ideal choice for this state-of-the-art project with such high environmental requirements that will support what will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
The construction project has positively impacted the region’s economy with over £7.5 million re-invested throughout the North-East. We are committed to engaging local supply chain partners and a key focus is placed on procuring local goods and services on all our projects.
Dogger Bank JV partners Equinor, SSE Renewables and Eni, were also keen to ensure that local businesses were involved in the scheme which completed in Autumn 2022. Mark Halliday, Dogger Bank Operations Director, said: “We are extremely proud to be working with so many local businesses for the construction of our operations and maintenance base. We will continue to bring more North-East expertise into the project, as we move into the O&M phase, so the local community can benefit from this world leading project.”
Bowmer + Kirkland Project Manager, Liz Wilson, said: “Each project that B+K delivers provides an opportunity for us to significantly benefit the communities in which we operate. As a contractor with offices located in the North-East, we are committed to supporting regional growth by providing opportunities for local supply chain partners to engage with projects such as the Dogger Bank operations and maintenance base.”
The project provided opportunities for local companies including those classified as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), which accounted for 89% of the supply chain. .
The project was constructed and operated in line with the UK Green Building Council’s (UKGBC) Net Zero Carbon Buildings Framework.
When fully operational, Dogger Bank Wind Farm will power the equivalent of 6 million UK homes, making a real contribution to decarbonising our electricity system and helping the UK meet its net zero targets.