The Sofia offshore wind farm is set to receive its first giant 14 MW turbine soon

The Sofia offshore wind farm, being built in UK waters, is set to receive its first turbine soon. The wind farm, with an installed capacity of 1.4 GW, is expected to comprise a total of 100 giant wind turbines. The farm is expected to start supplying electricity this year, with completion planned for next year.

The Sofia wind farm, worth more than €3.5 billion, is being built in the Dogger Bank area, less than 200 kilometres off the coast of the United Kingdom. Once fully operational, which is planned for next year, it is expected to generate enough electricity annually to meet the needs of 1.2 million households, according to Renewables Now.

According to RWE, more than half of the foundations for the planned 100 wind turbines have already been installed. Each turbine will have an installed capacity of 14 MW, making them some of the most powerful wind turbines in operation. The company also says that converter stations and substations have already been installed both onshore and offshore, and subsea power export cables have been laid.

The wind turbines are being supplied by Siemens Gamesa, which has already produced the first of a total of 150 recyclable blades. These are therefore expected to be used on half of the 100 planned turbines.

"Sofia is RWE's largest offshore project in the world, and so far it is on schedule and within budget to generate its first electricity this year," said Sven Utermohlen, RWE's head of offshore wind.

The Dogger Bank area is home to several offshore wind farm projects that will together form the world's largest offshore wind complex. The other farms are also using similarly powerful turbines, such as the Haliade-X turbine, with an installed capacity of 13-14 MW, at the Dogger Bank A, B and C offshore wind farms. The first turbines were installed back in 2023.