RWE has reported achievement of a major milestone in the delivery of its flagship Sofia offshore wind farm with the successful installation of the AC to DC offshore converter platform (OCP). Successful installation of the OCP keeps the 1.4 GW projecton track to be fully operational in 2026.
The massive OCP structure, constructed over two and a half years and requiring more than 13 million hours of work, was loaded out from Batam Yard in Indonesia and transported to the North Sea. It is thought to be the largest offshore wind converter platform of its type in the world.
The installation was carried out by Heerema, using its Sleipnir heavy lift vessel, as a subcontractor to the GE Vernova/Seatrium consortium responsible for the OCP. The platform, equivalent in height to an 11-story building and weighing over 13 000 tonnes, was lifted onto the jacket structure, marking the largest lift in offshore wind history.
The jacket structure, a welded tubular space frame, was first placed to support the topside facilities, which include supports for conductors, risers, and the topside itself.
The Sofia offshore wind farm, located on Dogger Bank, 195 km off the northeast coast of the UK, will employ 100 Siemens Gamesa 14 MW wind turbines. The power will be transmitted via subsea export cables to landfall in Redcar, Teesside, some 220 km away.
Operations and maintenance activities for Sofia will be managed from RWE’s new offshore wind operations base, the ‘Grimsby Hub,’ which also supports RWE’s Triton Knoll offshore wind farm. RWE is also developing in the region its two Dogger Bank South projects which, together, have a potential installed capacity of around
3 GW.
As RWE’s largest offshore wind farm to date, Sofia represents a critical component of the UK’s renewable energy future.
