First turbine foundation installed at 1.4GW Sofia offshore wind farm

The Sofia offshore wind farm, located on Dogger Bank in the UK North Sea, is set to be commissioned in 2026. Once operational, this wind farm will generate clean energy that can power approximately 1.2 million households in the UK.

Recently, German utility company RWE announced the installation of the first offshore turbine foundation at the Sofia offshore wind farm. The installation was carried out by Van Oord’s offshore installation vessel Aeolus. It is expected that all 100 foundations for the offshore wind project will be in place by spring 2025.

The offshore wind project will feature 100 Siemens Gamesa SG 14-222 DD offshore wind turbines, each with a capacity of 14MW. These turbines will be installed by the end of 2026. The generated electricity will be transmitted 220km to the landfall in Redcar, Teesside via a single offshore converter platform.

RWE’s offshore wind CEO Sven Utermöhlen expressed his excitement about the progress of the project, stating, “Building a project of this size and scale is a great opportunity to demonstrate our expertise in delivering offshore wind energy around the globe.”

The installation of the first turbine foundation follows the deployment of key subsea cable infrastructure at the wind farm, marking the beginning of offshore construction within the array itself. Van Oord was selected as the preferred supplier for the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation of the monopile foundations and array cables for the Sofia project in 2020.

Overall, the Sofia offshore wind farm represents a significant step towards harnessing renewable energy to power homes in the UK, contributing to a cleaner and more sustainable future.