Sofia Offshore Wind Farm is one of the most significant offshore wind projects in the UK and Europe. With a capacity of 1.4 GW, the Sofia project can generate electricity for 1.2 million households every year. Onshore construction began in January 2022. It aims to be fully operational by 2026.
Where is the Sofia Offshore wind farm?
The Sofia Offshore Wind Project is in the Dogger Bank zone in the middle of the North Sea. It is on the North Sea’s shallow central area of Dogger Bank. The site is not the closest to shore amongst the Dogger Bank wind projects. It is 95 km away from UK’s Northeast coast, even from the nearest point.
The cable infrastructure will landfall at Redcar, Teesside, at a new onshore converter station.
Who owns Sofia’s offshore wind farm?
RWE Renewables UK now owns 100% of the Sofia Offshore Wind project after a series of changes in the partnership. The company is part of RWE Renewables, with subsidiaries in 18 countries.
The Crown Estate initially awarded the project to the Forewind consortium in 2010. RWE was part of Forewind with energy giants Equinor, SSE, and Stratkraft. Formerly named Dogger Bank Teesside B, RWE assumed full project ownership in 2017. Forewind Consortium partners agreed to move away from the consortium months after Stratkraft left in March 2017.
The remaining partners split the 4 zones for development in Dogger Bank. As the zones already had a development consent order since 2015, Equinor and SSE continued working together. RWE flew solo and took 100% ownership of Doggerbank Teesside B, renaming it to Sofia offshore wind farm.
Sofia wind farm is a significant increase in RWE’s portfolio. Their portfolio will expand to 50 gigawatts in renewable electricity by 2030. Thus, the project will be crucial in RWE’s carbon-neutral strategy by 2040.
The financial investment decision was reached in March 2021 by Sofia from RWE.
How large is the Sofia Offshore wind farm project?
Sofia Offshore Wind Farm will be one of the largest offshore wind projects in Europe when it delivers first power in 2026. It will crate more power than Dogger Bank A (1.2 GW), Dogger Bank B (1.2 GW), Hornsea One (1.2 GW), and Hornsea Two (1.4 GW).
| Wind Farm | Owner | First Power | Turbines | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sofia | RWE | 2026 | 100 | 1,400 MW |
| Dogger Bank A | SSE & Equinor | 2024 | 95 | 1,235 MW |
| Dogger Bank B | SSE & Equinor | 2025 | 95 | 1,235 MW |
| Hornsea One | Ørsted | 2019 | 174 | 1,218 MW |
| Hornsea Two | Ørsted | 2022 | 165 | 1,386 MW |
Initially approved for a 1.2 MW wind power capacity, the request to expand the facility to 1.4 MW was approved and fully consented to in 2019.
It is the largest project in the Dogger Bank zone, as the wind farm covers 593 square kilometers. The wind farm is connected to the onshore converter station by 370 km of 66 kV inter-array cables. The project can generate 1.4 MW of wind energy in the UK for 1.2 million households.
What are the components of the project?
Given the project’s complexity, it has several integrated components on the sea and shore. The project has an offshore converter platform that connects to an onshore converter station. This connection happens via 220 km of HVDC export cables.
The industry’s farthest offshore platform installation begins in late 2022 to 2023. The offshore converter station’s structure includes state-of-the-art converter modules and a control system from GE.
The onshore electrical infrastructure includes landfall at Redcar, Teesside, then switching the current back to AC at the new converter station and connecting to the Lackenby Substation for steps up to 400kV. Many of the electrical system innovations in the project are installed by GE, bringing its eLumina HDVC control system to the project.
Is it a fixed or floating foundation?
The project will utilize a fixed type of foundation, as the seabed is at the shallow area of the Dogger Bank Zone. The site has a depth of 20 to 35 meters.
When is the first power of the Sofia Offshore wind farm project?
The operations will commence in 2024, but the schedule of the first power is currently scheduled for 2026.
How much total energy will this produce?
The project exceeds other Dogger Bank projects with 1.4 GW of installed capacity. It can deliver 5.4 terawatt-hours per year, a significant amount of electricity, to power nearly half of what Northeast UK needs annually.
Sofia Wind Farm Turbines
The turbines are the essential parts of an offshore wind farm. These convert the ocean’s wind power into clean, renewable energy. They also cost a significant amount of money, so developers must make sure they properly scope and size the turbines.
How many turbines?
A total of 100 offshore wind turbines will be used for the project.
Who makes the turbines?
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) is contracted to construct offshore wind turbines. The installation and maintenance are also provided by Siemens as they have been awarded as preferred contractors for the project.
RWE signed the preferred supplier contract with Siemens in June 2020.
What is the turbine model?
Sofia wind farm will install Siemens Gamesa SG 14-222 DD wind turbine, which has a swept area of 39,000 square meters and rotor diameter of 222 meters.
Aside from the vast installed capacity, the turbine also has sensors that gather vibration data and send information to headquarters for possible technical issues.
The turbines will also employ a smooth High Wind Ride Through (HWRT) system that prevents immediate shutdown of the turbine; when winds begin to exceed 25 meters per second, the turbines gradually lower power, allowing the grid to stabilize and keep grid safe from sudden shortages resulting from a sudden shutdown.
How much power per turbine?
Each turbine has 14 MW of nameplate capacity.