19 OCT 2026 ·OFFSHORE ·UNITED KINGDOM ·DETAILED FOUNDATION DESIGN (PRE-CONSTRUCTION) EARLY SIGNAL

Outer Dowsing: detailed monopile design awarded for 1.5 GW UK offshore wind farm

Analysis by a working wind technician, with the help of AI

// WHAT HAPPENED

Engineering firm Wood Thilsted has been given the contract for the detailed design of up to 100 monopile foundations at the 1.5 GW Outer Dowsing offshore wind farm in the UK North Sea.

The award comes after the company finished the front-end engineering and design (FEED) work earlier this year. It was first appointed for the foundations in 2024. Now it will turn that work into detailed designs, based on site conditions, structural needs and how the foundations will be installed.

Outer Dowsing sits about 54 km off the Lincolnshire coast. TotalEnergies, Macquarie and Broadhelm Renewables, and Gulf Development are developing it. It was one of six projects chosen in the UK's Round 4 leasing in 2022, and the Crown Estate agreements were signed in January 2023. The project got development consent in February 2026.

The developers say it should power around 1.6 million homes and bring about GBP 2 billion of UK investment over its life.

This is a design contract. The source gives no dates for fabrication, installation or turbines.

// WHAT IT MEANS FOR JOBS

PHASE NOW

Detailed foundation design (pre-construction)

HIRING WINDOW

Not before 2028 · turbine installation likely later in the decade

ROUGH SCALE

Estimate: 100–200 people at peak for installation and commissioning · 12–24 months (years away)

WORKFORCE EFFECT

Crews moving across

TIMELINE · WHEN THE WORK HAPPENS

H1 26

H2 26 ▼ NOW

H1 27

H2 27

H1 28

H2 28

H1 29

H2 29

H1 30

H2 30

H1 31

H2 31

H1 32

H2 32

H1 33

H2 33

H1 34

H2 34

H1 35

H2 35

Development consent granted

Detailed monopile design

Foundation and turbine installation

Operations and maintenance

Solid bar = confirmed · outlined = planned · blue = long-term jobs

ROLES NEEDED

ROLE	WHEN	DEMAND	CERTIFICATES THAT HELP
Offshore installation technician (mechanical)	Estimate: 2029–2030	LOW	GWO BST, BTT, Sea Survival, offshore medical
Rigger / banksman	Estimate: 2029–2030	LOW	Slinger Signaller, GWO BST, Sea Survival
HV / commissioning technician	Estimate: 2030–2031	LOW	HV authorisation, GWO BST, offshore medical
Offshore service technician	Estimate: from 2031	STEADY	GWO BST, BTT, ART

// PLAN YOUR MOVE

Experienced technicians

Keep your offshore and HV tickets valid. Watch for turbine supplier and installation contract news, as that sets the hiring dates.

New to wind

Nothing to apply for yet. Use the time to get GWO BST and some onshore experience before UK offshore projects ramp up.

Looking for stability

Long-term service jobs on this site are the target. They are likely 5+ years away, so look at running UK wind farms for now.

See matching jobs (30) Read: Wind Turbine Installation: From Ground to Grid Read: GWO Training: What It Is and Why It Matters Read: Offshore, HV, SCADA, Rope Access and More Build your CV

Source: Offshore Wind · Scale figures are rough estimates from field experience, not official numbers.