RWE has begun construction of its 1.4GW Sofia Offshore Wind Farm project. The official construction will start with onshore activities. UK firm Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK has been contracted to carry out the work.
These works take place at the site of the new high-voltage direct current converter station, located near the village of Lazenby in Teesside, and which will be constructed by GE’s Grid Solutions, starting in early 2022. Initial work on the 7 kilometre onshore cable route will start at around the same time. RWE has contracted Prysmian to supply and install the onshore export cable from a point between Redcar and Marske-by-the-Sea to the new converter station, before connecting to the existing National Grid substation in Lackenby, Teesside. Sofia is a 1.4GW offshore wind farm located on Dogger Bank, 195 km from the nearest point on the UK’s North East coast and consists of 100 Siemens Gamesa 14MW turbines. Offshore installation is expected to begin in 2023, with final project completion expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.