RWE has unveiled the first turbine blade being manufactured at the Siemens Gamesa factory in Hull, UK. The 108-metre-long blades will be attached to each of the 100 x 14MW offshore wind turbines for RWE’s Sofia Offshore Wind project.
Over 50% of the investment in the Sofia Offshore Wind Farm project is spent within the UK. Siemens Energy will manufacture, install, and commission all 100 SG 14-222 DD turbines. Each turbine will stand 252 metres tall, with 108-metre-long blades and a 222-metre rotor diameter. The total size of the wind farm will be 593 km². Once fully operational, the Sofia Offshore Wind Farm will have a total capacity of 1.4 GW.
RWE has also confirmed the deployment of recyclable blades on 44 of the 100 turbines, amounting to 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 project is located on Dogger Bank in the central North Sea, 195 km off the northeast coast of England. Offshore installation began earlier this year (2024), with project completion anticipated in 2026. Operations and maintenance activities for Sofia will be managed from RWE’s new offshore wind operations base, the ‘Grimsby Hub’.
Image credit: RWE
