The first wind turbine has been installed at the Sofia offshore wind farm in the UK. The 1.4 GW project, developed by RWE, will comprise 100 Siemens Gamesa 14 MW turbines, half of which will be fitted with recyclable blades.
The wind turbine was installed by Cadeler’s wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV), Wind Peak , which arrived at the offshore site for the first time during the weekend of 22 March.
Wind Peak will be carrying and installing components for six SG 14-222 DD wind turbines per each trip, with the installation work being done from the port of Hull.
Each of the Sofia wind turbines will stand over 252 metres above sea level, with blades of 108 metres sweeping an area of 39,000 square metres, according to RWE, which also pointed out on 28 March that half of the turbine blades to be installed on the Sofia project will be recyclable.
At the Sofia project site, the foundation installation, which started last year, continues with 62 turbine foundations in place so far, according to a recent Notice to Mariners from the project. The monopile foundations are being installed by Van Oord using its jack-up vessel Aeolus .
Sofia’s offshore converter station , onshore substation, and onshore and offshore export cables are also in place.
The 1.4 GW offshore wind project is expected to be commissioned in 2026, when it will be capable of generating enough electricity to power the equivalent of 1.2 million UK homes.