HORNSEA TWO – ØRSTED: World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm Project Underway
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As Ørsted begins construction of its major Hornsea Two offshore wind farm – the world’s largest upon completion – the company continues to invest heavily in local business and community to ensure a lasting energy and human legacy.
The Hornsea One wind farm is now operational and delivering clean electricity to more than one million UK homes and acts as an example to all as the world’s largest offshore wind farm. 174 turbines produce 1.2GW of renewable green power and send it along a massive 900km of specialised cable.
First power came in February 2019 with full commissioning following in June 2019, but focus has now switched to Hornsea Two – a major expansion of the field, adding an extra 165 new-generation Siemens turbines and brining a further 1.4GW of renewable wind energy to the UK grid; enough to power 1.3 million more homes.
Spread across an area of 462 km2, each 8MW turbine will sit atop steel towers reaching a total height of 190m – taller than the BT Tower or the Gherkin building in London. If you stacked all 165 Hornsea Two towers, with blades, on top of each other, you would reach almost as high as Felix Baumgartner when he jumped from the edge of the earth’s atmosphere to break the record for the highest ever sky-dive in 2012. The Hornsea Two field alone will cover an area larger than 58,000 football pitches. This is a signal of intent from Ørsted as the company continues to thrive after transitioning from oil and gas to become a renewables major.
Hornsea Two is set for completion in 2022 and will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm, overtaking Hornsea One. Despite worldwide slowdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Ørsted and its partners have pushed forward safely as Hornsea Two begins to take shape. It’s busy, it’s big, and it will be an important achievement for the region and the wider UK economy.
Currently, progress on site is ramping up nicely as contracts have been awarded and the ambition of Ørsted becomes clear.
HTOCB
In September 2019, the company opened its Hornsea Two Offshore Construction Base (HTOCB) at Humberside Airport in Lincolnshire. From here, Ørsted staff orchestrate the monumental undertaking of growing the world’s largest offshore wind farm out of the North Sea.
“The new offshore construction management office is the ideal location for our logistical project planning, and means we can move people and equipment offshore efficiently and safely using the heliport at Humberside airport. Not only have we been able to repurpose and redevelop a building that had fallen empty on the airport estate, we’ve also been able to utilise equipment and furniture from some of our previous projects in the region to ensure the build is sustainable and continue Ørsted’s green ethos,” said Senior Project Manager, Jason Ledden.
“Hornsea Two is the latest ground-breaking offshore wind farm being constructed by Ørsted and the innovation behind each new site is astounding. I’m so proud to be able to work on such a flagship project which will bring even more clean energy to the country.”
Opening of the HTOCB was quickly followed by the launch of the new Wind Operations and Maintenance Centre in Grimsby – the largest facility of its kind in the world. More than £10 million has been invested to upgrade quay, dock and office facilities from where operations for all of Ørsted’s East Coast offshore wind operations – including Westermost Rough, Lincs, Race Bank and Gunfleet Sands, Hornsea One, and Hornsea Two – will be managed.
Darren Ramshaw, Ørsted Head of the East Coast Region, was full of praise for Grimsby, saying: “The town has become a leading light in the development of offshore wind for the country and has really embraced the skills and opportunities that have become available within this exciting sector. With the port’s regeneration also on the horizon, we are excited to be a part of the development and growth in this area.”
LOCAL INVESTMENT
In August, further development in the region took place as an exciting new safety training centre was launched. At the MODAL Training Centre in Immingham, Ørsted opened its Thrive training programme, designed to deliver fully immersive opportunities for employees on Hornsea Two duty, before rolling out across other projects and with other companies.
The entire experience is packaged into a one-day session and focusses solely on safety with the idea of changing attitudes across the industry. Ørsted partnered with ATT to deliver the software and Dermot Kerrigan, Co-Director of ATT was delighted with the result, saying: “Thanks to Ørsted’s vision and investment, ATT has designed a ground-breaking safety leadership centre of excellence on the Humber. As well as the wind power version of the programme, for use by Ørsted’s Hornsea Two and other clients in the renewables sector, we also look forward to hosting bespoke versions of the programme for a variety of industries in the region – and beyond.”
In February, as the Covid-19 fallout began to show its true destructive power in the UK, all involved in Hornsea Two remained committed to the project, quickly adjusting to ensure a safe but productive working strategy could continue.
Local contractor, Fussey Engineering was onboarded to complete steel framework and cladding at the National Grid 400kV substation site which will be used by Hornsea Two to connect to the UK’s system.
Jason Curtis, Senior Project Manager for Hornsea Two said: “Ørsted are not only committed to making a positive impact on the global climate crisis but are also keen to support local companies where we can and in turn, support people from the region in their employment.
“Fussey Engineering are a well-known name in the area and by working together on this project, all parties involved will benefit the local economy and business community.”
Fussey Engineering’s head office is just one mile from the site and the company made use of 30 tonnes of locally sourced steel to construct the annex building and substation.
Ørsted also signed up long-term partner CHC to provide aerial transportation during both the construction and operational phases of Hornsea Two development. Previously contracted on Hornsea One, CHC has built a fantastic reputation for safety in the North Sea and will carry out crew and cargo transfer services – utilising Leonardo AW139 and AW169 helicopters – from Humberside Airport, adjacent to Ørsted’s HTOCB.
Mark Edwards, Operations Program Manager for Ørsted said: “We are very happy to expand our relationship with CHC to cover the Hornsea Two wind farm. By working together with CHC to cover both Hornsea One and Hornsea Two, we will able to operate much more efficiently in keeping the turbines spinning and delivering over 2.5GW across both windfarms.”
More great news for the UK market was announced in October when Ørsted signalled intent to engage local suppliers by signing a contract with Pict Offshore, a Scottish company which will deliver its innovative ‘Get Up Safe’ (GUS) motion-compensated lifting system.
This new system allows for landing structures and external ladders to be removed from designs, streamlining steel requirements and improving safety credentials. Operators are winched directly on to the turbine foundation.
“Innovation continues to be a key driver behind the success of offshore wind and the UK is leading the way through engineering innovators like Pict Offshore. Hornsea Two is set to be another ground-breaking offshore wind project and showcases how far the industry has come in terms of size, scale, knowledge and ambition,” said Duncan Clark, Head of UK Region at Ørsted.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
By the end of October, through one of the most challenging years on record, it was clear that Hornsea Two and Ørsted were not parachuting in and out, and investments to leave a lasting legacy were well-planned and meaningful. A partnership with UK youth charity OnSide was struck to invest in the young people of Grimsby as part of the town’s ongoing regeneration plans. Ørsted announced that it would invest £1 million to support development of the new Grimsby Youth Zone. This facility will provide a space for young people to develop through provision of activities, learning space, access to tutors and sports, and a listening ear. As part of a wider network managed by OnSide, the long-term vision is to inspire and support young people. In Grimsby, the centre expects to welcome 4000 people in its first year of operation.
For Ørsted, this type of lasting provision is significant. “Ørsted has been based on the port in Grimsby for six years now. With the recent completion of Hornsea One, now the world’s largest offshore wind farm, and with construction underway for Hornsea Two, we were keen to help the community realise a project that underlines our long-term commitment to the town and has a meaningful, long-term impact for the people living here,” said Duncan Clark.
“The Youth Zone will bring hope and aspiration to the young people of Grimsby who will have so many new opportunities brought to them through this new venture. Our latest apprenticeship recruitment drive saw over 500 people in the area put their name forward for a chance to work in our green and dynamic industry which shows that there’s a passion and willingness for change, demonstrated by the area’s young people,” he added.
The local council was equally excited: “This is a fantastic donation from Ørsted, a company which has really embedded itself in the fabric of the whole area since choosing to base themselves in Grimsby,” said Philip Jackson, Leader of North East Lincolnshire Council.
CARBON NEUTRAL
The story of Ørsted, and its major leap forward with Hornsea One and now Hornsea Two, should be an obvious example to the rest of the industry – and the world – that switching from a core business of oil and gas to focus solely on renewables is not one which has to be made at a financial cost to the business. Formerly DONG (Danish Oil and Natural Gas), Ørsted renamed and reinvented itself after Danish scientist Hans Christian Ørsted who discovered electromagnetism and helped to drive a new way of thinking about power production.
Today, the company has reduced its reliance on coal and is aiming to be coal free by 2023 with an emissions reduction of 96% since 2006. Hornsea Two is another huge stride in the fantastic progress this innovative company continues to demonstrate.
“Our CO2 emissions are down 83% compared to 2006 and by 2025 our production will essentially reach carbon-neutrality. It is now cheaper to build offshore wind farms than developing new coal or gas fired power plants. The same is true for onshore wind and solar energy. This is a major breakthrough for the green transformation. The renewable energy technologies that we need to fundamentally transform the energy system and radically reduce emissions are at our disposal and they are cost-efficient,” Ørsted CEO Henrik Poulsen told world leaders at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit in New York City.
Those on site are equally ambitious. “Hornsea One is so far offshore that there is no land reference whatsoever. It does hit home that you are in the middle of the North Sea,” says Joshua Gallacher, Ørsted Wind Turbine Technician.
“Ten years ago, a wind farm at this size, a wind farm this far offshore, was like putting a man on the moon. All of a sudden, with Hornsea One, we’ve shown that you can make offshore wind power at a scale of conventional power stations,” says Duncan Clark.
Right now, progress continues at pace. At the beginning of October the first offshore turbine foundation was installed on site to the delight of Patrick Harnett, Ørsted Senior Programme Director for Hornsea Two who said: “Our dedicated teams and contractors continue to overcome obstacles and perform above and beyond expectations.
“This offshore installation is another huge accomplishment for the Hornsea Two project and proves the commitment and hard work from everyone working towards the same goal – to create a world that runs entirely on green energy, through the safe and efficient construction of another of the world’s largest offshore wind farms.”
Following completion of Borselle 1 & 2 – Ørsted projects in the Dutch North Sea – the company’s reputation grows unabated. With around one in three of all offshore turbines installed around the world from Ørsted, and a market value of around $75 billion, this is a company that has heard the call of nature – without ignoring the demands of shareholders.
Hornsea Two cements Ørsted’s lofty position and will be a beacon; exhibiting what is possible with a little courage and a lot of innovation.