Prysmian has completed the installation and HV testing of the export subsea cables that connect the Sofia offshore wind farm to the UK mainland.
The 1.4 GW offshore wind farm comprises more than 440 kilometres of ±320 kV offshore export cables with XLPE insulation, manufactured in Prysmian’s Pikkala plant in Finland, and 15 kilometres of ±320 kV onshore cables with P-Laser insulation made in the company’s Gron plant in France.
The Italy-headquartered cable supplier has delivered the export cable connection for the Sofia project under a contract signed with the developer RWE back in 2021.
Prysmian started installing the export cables in 2023 using its Leonardo da Vinci vessel. This also marked the start of the offshore construction of the 1.4 GW wind farm, whose export cable link runs from the offshore converter platform to a landfall point 220 kilometres away in Redcar, Teesside.
Offshore construction at the Sofia project site, 195 kilometres off the UK coast, is still underway, with more than half of the monopiles installed and the first wind turbines now also in place.
The 1.4 GW project, which will comprise 100 Siemens Gamesa 14 MW turbines, 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.