Eastgate Engineering to Support Pre-assembly of GE’s Haliade-X Turbines for Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Farm

Wind turbine maker GE Renewable Energy has selected Eastgate Engineering, based in Billingham, Teesside, UK, to provide mechanical and electrical activities for the pre-assembly of the towers and nacelles for the Haliade-X turbines to be used at the giant Dogger Bank offshore wind farm.

The contract is expected to support approximately 90 local jobs including electrical and mechanical technicians, supervision, and project management.  

The mechanical and electrical engineering work will be done at Able Seaton Port, the Dogger Bank Wind Farm marshaling harbor.  

The work started in January 2023 and is expected to continue throughout all three phases of the pre-assembly of the wind farm, which is set to conclude in 2026. 

Dogger Bank Wind Farm Commercial Director Simon Bailey, said:  “Eastgate Engineering is a very welcome addition to our Dogger Bank Wind Farm supply chain, as they help us prepare for turbine installation later this year. The Billingham-based company is one of a number of firms in the north-east bringing expertise to our world-leading project, which is supporting more than 2,000 UK-based roles during construction and operation.” 

David Brennan, Managing Director of Eastgate Engineering, said: “Eastgate Engineering is delighted to work in close partnership with GE to deliver the world’s largest offshore wind farm. Our highly skilled, locally based workforce is excited to support such a historic project with such an important role to play in bringing more clean, renewable offshore wind online in the UK.”  

GE announced in December 2022 it had selected Mammoet UK, based in Thornaby Teesside, to supply onshore heavy lifting and transport for the staging and assembly of turbine components for Dogger Bank Wind Farm. 

The 3.6 GW Dogger Bank wind farm will be located in the UK North Sea, 130 kilometers off the Yorkshire coast.

The wind farm is set to be developed in three 1.2GW phases.

Dogger Bank A and B phases will be the first to feature GE’s Haliade-X 13 MW, with a total of 190 to be installed. For Dogger Bank C phase GE will deliver 87 upscaled Haliade-X 14 MW turbines, bringing the total number of Haliade-X units to be installed at Dogger Bank to a total of 277.

In a recent conference call, Scott L. Strazik, Chief Executive Officer, GE Vernova –GE’s portfolio of energy businesses revealed that the company was working on developing 17 – 18MW Haliade-X turbine variants, too.