RWE marks major construction milestones at Sofia offshore wind farm.
RWE one of the world's leading offshore wind companies and the key drivers
of the energy transformation – working to achieve ambitious goals.
The Sofia offshore wind farm is located on Dogger Bank in the central North
Sea approximately 121 miles off the north east coast of England. The
project is expected to be fully completed in 2026.
The project has marked significant milestones with the arrival of a brand
new turbine installation vessel, the first turbine load out, and the completion
of Sofia's first recyclable blades at Siemens Gamesa in Hull. Installation
of the first turbines is set to begin imminently, with the first power
generation expected to follow shortly after. With commissioning scheduled
for 2026, Sofia will play a key role in helping the UK achieve its Clean
Power 2030 target, with the capacity to power the equivalent of over 1.2
million typical homes.
The project has already achieved several major milestones in the construction
of foundations, onshore and offshore electrical systems over the past few
months. It is now preparing for the first turbine installation expected
in the coming weeks, and first generation of electricity and feed into
the grid later this year.
Sven Utermöhlen - CEO Offshore Wind at RWE says: "Sofia is RWE’s
largest offshore construction project globally and remains on track and
on budget to generate first power this year. 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 UK 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. Through partnerships with companies like Siemens
Gamesa in Hull, RWE is able to support jobs and prosperity within coastal
communities and is a tangible example of the value of offshore wind to
the UK’s economy.”
Energy
Minister - Michael Shanks said: “It is great to see this exciting
milestone reached for the Sofia offshore wind farm. Today takes us a step
closer to achieving our mission for clean power by 2030, with over a million
homes expected to be powered by the cutting-edge turbines of Sofia wind
farm. With £6 billion of investment from this project alone, our clean
power mission is creating future-proof jobs, making the UK energy secure,
and delivering the clean power needed to get bills down for good.”
Marc
Becker - Siemens Gamesa Head of Offshore, said: “As wind energy becomes
a cornerstone of the global energy transition, more than one million tons
of blade material is expected to be installed annually. Our recyclable
blades can give those materials a second use. At Hull, we are proud to
be producing 150 recyclable blades for Sofia. This is a major landmark
moment: Sofia, one of the largest offshore wind farms in the world, will
be the first in UK waters to feature this industry-leading innovation.”
Last
week saw the arrival of the brand-new, state-of-the-art Wind Peak turbine
installation vessel from Cadeler, which will carry the first of the 14
megawatts (MW) turbine components to the project located
195km offshore, for installation. 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 this year.
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