RWE has marked significant progress in the construction of its 1.4 GW Sofia offshore wind farm, located on the Dogger Bank off the U.K. east coast, with the first turbine installation expected in the coming weeks.
Earlier in March, the project welcomed the arrival of the brand-new Wind Peak turbine installation vessel from Cadeler, which will carry the first of the 14 MW turbine components to the project located 195km offshore, for installation.
The installation of the first turbines due to start imminently with first power to follow.
In addition, the first of 150 recyclable wind turbine blades, manufactured in Hull by Siemens Gamesa, have been produced ready for installation at 50 of Sofia’s 100 turbines in spring.
So far at Sofia, more than half of the offshore turbine foundations have been installed, the offshore converter station, onshore substation, and onshore and offshore export cables are also in place, in preparation for first generation later in 2025.
With commissioning due in 2026, Sofia will make a major contribution to achieving the UK’s Clean Power 2030 target, capable of powering the equivalent of over 1.2 million typical homes.
“This impressive progress reflects the expertise of our RWE team and the strong support of our supply chain partners, ensuring the successful delivery of flagship projects like Sofia. For the U.K. particularly, the achievement of these latest milestones demonstrates RWE’s crucial role in deploying offshore wind in support of the UK Government’s Clean Power targets by 2030,” said Sven Utermöhlen, CEO RWE Offshore Wind.
RWE currently operates 10 offshore wind farms across the U.K., with an additional nine in development. These development projects represent a combined potential installed capacity of approximately 9.8 GW, with RWE’s pro-rata share totaling 7 GW.