RWE has unveiled the first 108-metre turbine blade made at the Siemens Gamesa factory in Hull, which will be part of 100 wind turbines to be installed at the 1.4 GW Sofia offshore wind farm in the UK.
Each of the 100 wind turbines, rated at 14 MW, will be equipped with 108-metre-long blades that will operate at the heart of the Sofia offshore wind project.
According to RWE, more than 50 per cent of the investment in the Sofia project is spent within the UK. Siemens Energy will manufacture, install, and commission all 100 of the latest SG 14-222 DD turbines, each measuring 252 metres tall with a rotor diameter of 222 metres.
“At our offshore wind blade factory in Hull we’re powering the energy transition. We now employ over 1,300 people at the site, after recruiting more than 600 new employees over the last 12 months. We are proud to be a key supplier to RWE on a number of UK projects, including manufacturing the blades for Sofia. It’s great to have this project underway and unveil the first blade”, said Darren Davidson , Vice President of Siemens Energy UK&I.
RWE has also confirmed that working with Siemens Gamesa, they will deploy recyclable blades on 44 of 100 turbines – a record 132 individual blades. This follows the installation of recyclable blades at RWE’s Kaskasi offshore wind farm off the German island of Heligoland.
The Sofia offshore wind farm is located on Dogger Bank in the central North Sea, 195 kilometres off the north east coast of England. The total size of the wind farm will be 593 square kilometres, approximately the size of the Isle of Man, RWE said.
The offshore installation commenced earlier this year, and the project’s substation has recently been installed at the site. Project completion is anticipated in 2026.
Once fully operation, the 1.4 GW Sofia wind farm would be capable of generating enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of about 1.2 million UK homes every year, according to the developer.
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