As the UK celebrates 25 years of offshore wind, the newly refurbished Windscape exhibit showcases over a decade of Equinor’s offshore wind operations in the region and their ongoing work with the local community. Visitors can explore six new activity zones as well as use binoculars and telescopes to look out to Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon offshore wind farms at sea, which today power around 710,000 UK homes.
The updated display space, designed to appeal to all age groups, uses films, touch screens, graphics and a dress-up area to help make offshore wind technology and the Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon wind farms accessible. Facts and imagery are used to illustrate the context and scale of the projects whilst demonstrating what opportunities can be offered in the region.
Sophie Skipp, Equinor’s Norfolk Stakeholder Manager said: “Windscape’s new displays and interactives take visitors on an exciting journey of discovery into offshore wind energy, telling the story of the development, construction and operations of our wind farms, as well as explaining how wind energy through Norfolk’s heritage is now helping power its future.”
“The exhibit also showcasesthe positive impact the wind farms have had on our community, whilst allowing visitors to learn more about offshore wind and the wide range and breadth of careers they can aspire to. The Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon Community Funds have already awarded grants valued at £1.65m and they will continue to support many community projects in the years ahead.”
Melissa Read, Head of Regional Develpment UK said: “Sheringham Shoal marked the first stepping stone in Equinor’s renewables journey as our first full scale commercial offshore wind farm, receiving its seabed lease in 2004 and installing its first turbine in 2011. More than a decade of operations later, the East of England is gearing up to be an energy superhub as the industry more broadly celebrates 25 years of UK offshore wind this year.”
The refurbishment has been a true collaboration effort alongside sister project Windscape Brooklyn, with subject matter experts sharing so openly their name, designs and curation with Windscape at the Sheringham Museum. Windscape Brooklyn is located in Sunset Park, Brooklyn and is a community commitment as part of the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal.
Although there is an admission charge to Sheringham Museum (www.sheringhammuseum.co.uk), Windscape is free to enter and is open from 10:00am – 4:30pm Monday to Saturday, closed on Sundays.
Equinor in Norfolk:
Equinor is a long-term partner for Norfolk and has been an active member of the community for over a decade through the Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon wind farms it operates off the Norfolk coast.
The Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm is owned by Equinor, Masdar and China Resources Consortium, whilst Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm is owned by Equinor, a subsidiary of Equitix Offshore 3 Limited (co-owned by funds managed by Equitix and The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG)) and Macquarie Asset Management (via Macquarie GIG Renewable Energy Fund 1).
On behalf of its partners, Equinor is maturing the proposed Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon Extension projects. Following unitisation of the two, the Extensions project will double the capacity of the existing Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon wind farms, providing renewable energy to power an additional 785,000 UK homes and making an important contribution to the UK’s decarbonisation goals.
Currently, the combined output of Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon wind farms is sufficient to power around 710,000 UK homes, and the proposed extensions will increase that to nearly 1.5 million UK households.
Both wind farms have established community funds which in total have awarded over £1.65 million to projects in Norfolk. The funds were set up to provide grants to Norfolk community groups, including schools and charities, seeking financial assistance for projects or initiatives that meet key criteria and focus on renewable energy, marine environment and safety, sustainability, or education in these areas. During 2020, the funds provided grant funding to the Norfolk Community Foundation’s COVID-19 funding initiatives, and during 2021 grant funding has been made available to support Norfolk’ s ‘every child on-line’ initiative.