RWE has started construction of its 1400MW Sofia offshore wind farm off the north-east coast of England.
Official construction has started with onshore activities, which are also known as enabling works, with Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK contracted to carry out the work.
The works are taking place at the site of the new high-voltage direct current converter station (an impression of which is pictured), located near the village of Lazenby in Teesside.
The substation will be constructed by GE’s Grid Solutions, starting in early 2022.
Initial work on the 7km onshore cable route will start at around the same time, with the contractor for that package due to be announced later this year.
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.
Jones Bros Civil Engineering is also carrying out enabling works at the site for SSE and Equinor’s 1.2GW Dogger Bank C offshore wind farm.
Offshore installation art Sofia is expected to begin in 2023, with final project completion expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Sofia will be the first project in the world to install Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy’s brand new 14MW turbine.