Van Oord has confirmed its role as engineering, procurement, construction and installation contractor for foundations and array cables at the 1400MW Sofia offshore wind farm in the central North Sea.
The company confirmed its role following developer RWE Renewables’ recent final investment decision on the £3bn project, located at Dogger Bank.
The Dutch marine contractor will install 100 extended monopile foundations without transition pieces using jack-up vessel Aeolus, while cable layer Nexus will fit the project’s 350 kilometres of array cables.
Offshore construction is slated to start in 2023 with the project due fully operational by the end of 2026.
Van Oord said it will deliver the contract via a newly created logistics hub within its UK branch, MPI offshore.
“Now that the contract is signed, the design phase will be started and the project team will commence its activities from our Stokesley office,” said Van Oord offshore wind managing director Arnoud Kuis.
“The recent announcement of Freeport status for the Tees Valley will further stimulate the regional development of the offshore wind sector in this area. In the coming period, we will be actively marketing our supply chain opportunities and vacancies with a focus on sourcing well-trained staff.'”
RWE’s offshore wind chief operating officer Sven Utermöhlen said the contract will build on an existing strong relationship between RWE and Van Oord.
The two companies have already worked together on four UK projects.
“Sofia is our largest and most ambitious offshore wind development to date. We look forward to leveraging our vast experience and learnings as we progress into the construction of this flagship project, and to realising its potential in terms of contributing to the UK’s net zero energy ambitions,”‘ Utermöhlen said.