The Offshore Converter Platform (OCP) has successfully been installed at Sofia. This marks a huge achievement for the entire RWE Sofia Offshore Wind Farm team.
The OCP is a critical piece of infrastructure that sits at the heart of the wind farm. It converts high voltage alternating current (AC) to high voltage direct current (DC), and is RWE's first offshore deployment of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) technology.
Its successful installation keeps the 1.4 gigawatt (GW) project on track to be fully operational in 2026. Sofia will then be capable of generating enough electricity to power approximately 1.2 million typical UK homes.
The impressive OCP structure has been constructed over two and a half years and required more than 13 million hours of work. Once complete, it was loaded from Batam Yard in Indonesia and transported to the North Sea to be installed at Sofia.
The platform, equivalent in height to an 11-story building and weighing over 13,000 tonnes, was lifted onto the jacket structure, marking the largest lift in offshore wind history.
It is understood to be the largest offshore wind converter platform of its type in the world, and its installation is a testament to the successful collaboration between RWE and its partners, GE Vernova and Seatrium.
Sven Utermöhlen, CEO RWE Offshore Wind: “The successful installation of the OCP, the largest converter platform of its kind in the offshore wind industry, is a proud moment for RWE and everyone involved. This project not only highlights our commitment to leading the way on offshore wind, but demonstrates the scale and complexity of what can be achieved when we all work together.”
Once operational, the Sofia Offshore Wind Farm, located on Dogger Bank, 195 kilometres off the northeast coast of the UK, will transmit low-carbon electricity generated from 100 Siemens Gamesa 14 megawatt (MW) wind turbines. The energy will be carried through subsea export cables to landfall in Redcar, Teesside, 220 kilometres away.
As RWE’s largest offshore wind farm to date, Sofia represents a critical component of the UK’s renewable energy future, setting new standards for innovation, sustainability, and collaboration in the offshore wind industry.
