RWE makes final investment decision on Sofia wind farm in UK waters

German multinational energy company RWE has taken the final investment decision (FID) on its 1.4GW Sofia Offshore Wind Farm project.

The 100 per cent RWE-owned project represents a total investment of approximately £3 billion (US$4.13 billion). The company is now poised to forge ahead with the construction of Sofia, with onshore enabling works due to start this spring and offshore construction in 2023.

Final project completion is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026.

The project is located on Dogger Bank, 195 kilometres from the nearest point on the UK’s North East coast. It will have a single offshore converter platform, with the electricity generated transported via a high voltage direct current export cable to landfall 220 kilometres away in Redcar, Teesside.

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy will supply 100 of its 14MW offshore wind turbines while a specially formed consortium of GE Renewable Energy’s Grid Solutions and Sembcorp Marine is set to supply a state-of-the-art transmission system for Sofia, including two HVDC converter stations.

International marine contractor Van Oord is the preferred supplier for monopile foundations as well as array cables and plans to establish a logistics hub in the UK’s North East to deliver the work.

Prysmian Group is due to provide a high voltage submarine and land export cable connection, including use of its brand-new cable installation vessel Leonardo da Vinci.