The complexity of building large energy infrastructure assets, often in harsh physical environments, poses risks to delivery timelines but, working with its construction partners, SSE managed to make significant progress on flagship projects across its renewables and low-carbon thermal portfolio in 2022/23.
The first offshore platform was installed at Dogger Bank (3,600MW, 40% SSE stake), the world’s largest wind farm currently under construction, in April 2022 and it is on schedule to deliver first power in summer 2023, assuming normal weather and resolution of delays to the supply of nacelles.
Seagreen (1,075MW, 49% SSE stake), overcame difficult weather conditions and installation vessel availability problems in 2022/23. The world’s deepest fixed-bottom offshore wind farm, it achieved
first power in August 2022 and is due for completion in summer 2023.
Onshore, Viking wind farm (443MW) on Shetland passed a number of milestones in the past year, with 70km of access tracks completed, all 103 bases installed and the first of the turbines installed in April 2023.
Flexible thermal generation plant like SSE’s Keadby 2 power combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) station in North Lincolnshire will also be needed to meet net zero ambitions.
After four-and-a-half years in construction, Keadby 2 entered commercial operation in March 2023. Fitted with a Siemens Energy 9000HL 50Hz turbine, Keadby 2 is the most efficient CCGT plant of its type in Europe and work is already under way exploring the potential for hydrogen blending at the plant.
The wellbeing of those working on SSE’s large capital projects continues to be a key focus, with measures taken at Group level in early 2023 to improve the support given to contracting partners and monitor safety on construction sites.