RWE’s Sofia Offshore Wind Farm is set to become one of the largest single offshore wind farms in the world, and is the most advanced construction project anywhere in RWE’s global portfolio.
The offshore construction effort began in September 2023 and has been ongoing continuously since then. In less than three years the Sofia team and its contractors, working around the clock, have passed multiple key milestones, and also made huge advances for the industry as a whole.
Following the completion of the landfall horizontal directional drill to install ducts in early 2023, offshore construction started in September 2023 with the first phase of the installation of Sofia's two 220 kilometres long export cables. The brand new vessel Leonardo da Vinci carried out that work in two phases.
Work on the offshore site started in 2024 with the installation of the first of the project's 100 extended monopile foundations, delivered by the vessel Aeolus. Over the rest of 2024 we saw the second phase of the export cable installation, the ongoing installation of the foundation pieces along with 350 kilometres of array cables, and, at the heart of the wind farm, the arrival of the 13,000 tonne offshore converter platform, installed upon its 7000 tonne jacket foundation.
Moving into 2025, the Sofia project welcomed the arrival of the turbine installation vessel, the Wind Peak. As the Van Oord vessels Aeolus and Calypso made steady progress installing foundations and array cables, the Wind Peak began installing the wind turbines themselves. This included all 150 of our recyclable turbine blades. By the end of 2025, we had installed all of the foundations and array cables, and more than half of our turbines.
From there, moving into 2026, our task narrows down to the installation of our remaining wind turbines, commissioning and energisation our onshore and offshore platforms, and then generating first power. We look forward to reporting on these milestones over the rest of 2026.
In summer 2026, our focus is firmly upon the installation of our last turbines and the energisation of the offshore converter platform. We will then bring the entire wind farm online in a phased process, until we have a full wind farm, operating safely and successfully.
Once fully operational, Sofia will be capable of generating enough renewable electricity to power approximately 1.2 million typical UK homes. It is through projects like Sofia, and upcoming projects such as Dogger Bank South and Awel y Mor, that RWE fulfils an important role in global efforts to achieve a greener future.
You can see the latest images of our offshore work in our image gallery.
Offshore surveys and site clearance to prepare for construction.
Manufacture of the project’s two 220 kilometre export cables underway.
Start of fabrication of offshore converter platform and jacket foundation.
Ducting for export cable installed at landfall in Redcar, Teesside.
Start of fabrication of Sofia's 350 kilometres of array cables.
Start of fabrication of the project’s 100 extended monopile foundations.
First phase of export cable installation.
Start of manufacture and fabrication of the project's 100 turbines.
First monopile foundation installed on Dogger Bank site.
Array cable installation gets underway.
Offshore converter platform and jacket foundation successfully installed at offshore site.
Completion of installation of the export cables.
First use of an underwater bubble curtain in UK waters.
First turbine successfully installed at offshore site.
All 100 foundations installed.
All array cables installed.
50th wind turbine installed.
All 150 RecyclableBlades installed offshore.
Commissioning starts at the offshore converter platform.
Operations and Maintenance team completes its first offshore rotation.
Energisation of the offshore converter platform.
75th turbine installed at offshore array.
First power generated.
100th turbine installed.
All 100 turbines fully commissioned.
Offshore converter platform fully commissioned.
Sofia is fully operational.
Sofia submits documents related to the offshore activity to the Marine Management Organisation to approve and then store and make publicly available. To view the documents related to Sofia you can access the MMO Public Register and search under DCO/2016/00021 and DCO/2016/00019.
One of the key offshore construction documents is the Project Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan. It sets out how environmental impacts will be managed during Sofia’s offshore construction and operation, covering the environmental frameworks and procedures that will be followed by all contractors and sub-contractors in relation to marine pollution, chemicals, waste and disposal.
For Fisheries-specific documents please visit the For Mariners section of the website.
| CONTRACTOR | DESCRIPTION | WEBSITE |
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Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) will manufacture, fabricate and install Sofia's 100 wind turbines. |
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GE’s Grid Solutions will be responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of the offshore (and onshore) HVDC converter stations capable of transmitting 1,400 megawatts of power at 320 kilovolts. |
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Working in a consortium with GE's Grid Solutions, Sembcorp Marine will build and install the offshore platform and jacket foundation. |
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Van Oord will deliver the project's 100 foundations and 350 kilometres of array cables. |
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Prysmian Group will design, supply, install and commission Sofia's HVDC export link including 440 kilometres of offshore export cables and installation work. |
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Heerema Marine Contractors will transport and install Sofia's offshore converter platform using Sleipnir, the world's largest sustainable semi-submersible crane vessel.
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Cadeler has commissioned two brand new X-class vessels to transport and install the project's 100 turbines. They will be completed in late 2024 and early 2025 respectively. |
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Hellenic Cables will design, engineer, manufacture, test and supply Sofia's approximately 360 km of 66 kV XLPE-insulated inter-array cables and associated accessories.
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EEW will deliver Sofia's 100 extended monopile foundations under a contract with Van Oord. |
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Port of Blyth will be the location of the offshore construction base for Sofia's team for the duration of offshore works. |
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Specialist Marine Consultants will deliver offshore resources and services for the project's offshore construction phase. |
