- 15 October 2025
RWE Sofia Offshore Wind Farm has now reached its halfway point, with 50 of the project’s 100 turbines successfully installed. This significant milestone marks continued progress on the delivery of one of RWE’s largest offshore wind farms, located 240 kilometres off the UK coast.
Sofia is not only remarkable for its size and scale, but also for the pioneering technology it is helping to bring to market. The project is the first offshore wind farm in the world to install recyclable turbine blades at scale. Manufactured by Siemens Gamesa, the blades are made with a specially developed resin that allows the components to be separated and recycled at the end of their lifecycle. This is a major step forward for sustainability and demonstrates RWE’s commitment to innovation and responsibility in renewable energy.
Turbine installation vessel Wind Peak, operated by Cadeler, is capable of transporting six complete turbine sets, comprising six towers, six nacelles and eighteen blades during each sailing cycle.
Each tower stands 116 metres tall, taller than the Saturn V rocket that launched the Apollo spacecraft, and weighs approximately 846 tonnes, roughly equivalent to a pod of ten orcas. The nacelles are the size of nine London Underground carriages stacked three by three and each weigh five times more than the Statue of Liberty. Individual turbine blades are 108 metres long, making them three metres longer than the pitch at Wembley Stadium, and weigh around 57 tonnes, one tonne more than a fully loaded Boeing 737-300.
Of the 100 turbines that will eventually make up the wind farm, 50 will feature recyclable blades. This collaboration between RWE and Siemens Gamesa has already gained industry recognition, with the partnership shortlisted for Renewable UK’s Global Offshore Wind Awards 2025, Power through collaboration: Pioneering partnership award.
When fully operational, Sofia will have an installed capacity of 1.4 gigawatts, generating enough renewable electricity to power the equivalent of 1.2 million typical UK homes. With half the turbines now in place, the project is firmly on track to deliver one of the world’s most advanced and sustainable offshore wind farms.
Key Stats
- Location: 220km offshore
- Towers: 116m tall, 846 tonnes
- Nacelles: size of nine London Underground carriages, five times heavier than the Statue of Liberty
- Blades: 108m long, 57 tonnes each
- Installation vessel: Wind Peak carries six turbine sets per trip
- Recyclable blades: 50 of 100 turbines
You can now see videos of all the gigantic components, including the recyclable blades, and of our turbine installation vessel, on our video gallery here.
