Equinor powers over 750,000 homes through our existing offshore wind farms in the UK, and aims to power around 7 million UK homes by 2030. Our core values as a company are to be open, collaborative, courageous and caring. When working with host communities to develop our offshore wind farms, we operate with respect for other users of the sea, local communities and environments.
The development of floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea has the potential to bring significant benefits to local communities, contributing to sustainable social development, skills creation, educational opportunities and investments in the supply chain.
How Equinor works with host communities to deliver benefits for all
We have a track record of creating social and economic value and working with local communities wherever we operate. Critically, we first aim to understand what interventions would create the most benefit to host communities.
In Norfolk, around our Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farms, we have engaged the local community to develop and deliver a community benefit fund that has now distributed more than £1 million to the Norfolk community. The fund has been established 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.
At Dogger Bank, located off the North East of England, and which is the world’s largest offshore wind farm under construction, we have established a scholarship fund to provide grants to local students undertaking science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) courses in further education. The grants provided at the start of the year were part of the first round of the scholarship fund, with a total of 62 scholarships being awarded during the world’s largest wind farm’s construction phase. The scholarships are to help students with the cost of tuition fees.
