The next chapter for offshore wind in Norfolk

Yahoo

19-04-2025

Equinor's proposed extensions to the Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon offshore wind farms will generate jobs, revenue and opportunity for the East Anglian region.
Equinor has been at the frontier of Norfolk's offshore wind sector for over a decade, bringing the Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon wind farms online in 2012 and 2017 respectively.
Operated from the company's Great Yarmouth Operations and Maintenance (O&M) hub, the wind farms produce enough renewable electricity to power 710,000 UK homes.
Financial controller Tim Hardy was the second person to be employed for the Norfolk project when he was recruited by Equinor in 2011.
'When I joined, Sheringham Shoal was one of the largest offshore wind farms in the world. It was also our first commercial wind farm and the start of our offshore wind story' he said. 'Skip forward to today and its 25 years since the first offshore wind farm was built in the UK. Looking back, it's fantastic to see not only how far the industry has come but also how far we have come as a region.
'During the early days, the industry had a pioneering feel to it. There was an excellent team spirit we had in the organisation – and that has continued to this day.
'I was originally attracted to the role given the ethical way we were going about setting up the asset in the locality,' Tim added. 'The plan was for an international project but, because it was a local asset, it had to be effectively resourced locally for the core personnel.'
Tim Hardy, financial controller at Equinor (Image: Tim Hardy) Over the years both Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon have helped form a 'Norfolk contingent' comprised of everything from local suppliers for maintenance and repair to technicians and engineers to service the assets. Tim said that Sheringham Shoal also provided the perfect platform and example to learn how to navigate the energy transition – not just for Equinor, but for the supply chain, stakeholders and government bodies.
'For each wind farm we've developed, the next one is always better,' he said. 'That knock-on effect trickles down to better production at a lower cost. We want to continue that learning process to make this industry more efficient.'
READ MORE: Discover offshore wind career opportunities at Equinor
Equinor is now looking to leverage these learnings as part of the firm's long-term investment in the region.
In 2024, The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero granted consent to extend both Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon. The proposed development looks to double the capacity of the operational wind farms, supporting more than 1,800 full-time jobs per year during the construction phase, while contributing to the UK's decarbonisation targets.
This means that collectively these projects could power nearly 1.5 million UK households and generate approximately £370 million in direct gross value added to the local and national economy.
Kari Hege Mørk was previously the stakeholder manager for both Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon, but is now the project director responsible for the development plan for the extensions.
'When we sat down at the drawing board, the proposed approach was to develop the extensions as a single project, with a shared transmission system and consenting process,' she said.
Kari Hege Mørk, project director for Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon extensions (Image: Equinor) 'This is an innovative way of doing things, but having applied key learnings from our journey in the region, this enables us to make the future project more competitive whilst extending the lifetime of the operational base in Great Yarmouth and take the synergies related to that.
'We can be more efficient and also optimise performance, but also do this in a way that maximises local benefits and causes minimum disruption to the environment and community.'
This next chapter for Equinor poses a range of benefits for East Anglia.
'We're trying to create opportunities for the next generation,' Tim said. 'Norfolk is becoming a strong renewable energy hub and Equinor, with its two businesses here, is a big player in it.
'The great thing that this industry offers is a career pathway, bringing in trainees, apprentices and graduates. We want to be able to offer good jobs to the local people and help build the industry's future.'
READ MORE: Equinor apprenticeships: 'See your future from the inside'
But it isn't all about engineers. Both Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon are commercial businesses offering a diverse range of roles, including everything from planners, warehouse operatives, logistics coordinators and more.
'It's not all about putting on your kit, jumping on an offshore service vessel and popping to a turbine. There's an onshore opportunity and an offshore opportunity and many opportunities in between!
'It is an exciting industry to work in – there's no doubt about it. Because it's dynamic.'
For more information, visit equinor.com
(Image: Newsquest)
This article is part of the EDP's Clean & Green campaign, which aims to promote our region as the biggest in the UK and Europe for all forms of renewable energy.