Van Oord has been selected as preferred supplier for a turnkey foundations and array cables job at RWE’s 1400MW Sofia wind farm in the UK North Sea.
The Dutch contractor will be the engineering, procurement, construction and installation outfit on all 100 monopile foundations, which will be hammered home by jack-up Aeolus.
Some 350km of array lines will be installed by cable-lay vessel Nexus.
The supply of the hardware – foundations based on an extended monopile design without a transition piece and in-field cables – will be sub-contracted.
Van Oord said it will create a logistics hub through its UK branch MPI Offshore to deliver the scope of work at the project, which is located on the Dogger Bank.
Work on the foundation and array package is set to begin after the project’s final investment decision in Q1 2021, with installation scheduled for 2024.
RWE chief operating offshore Sven Utermöhlen said: “On Dogger Bank, we are realising one of the world’s largest offshore wind farms. Van Oord is a well-known partner to us, with Sofia the fifth and largest UK offshore wind farm that we have worked on together. This gives us a wealth of experience to draw on as we progress the project through its construction phase.
“Sofia is a flagship for RWE Renewables in terms of technology and innovation, and for the UK through regional supply chain opportunities and as a major contributor to the nation’s net zero ambitions.”
Van Oord chief Pieter van Oord said: “We are extremely proud to be working together with RWE Renewables as the EPCI contractor for the permanent works of the Sofia Offshore Wind Farm.
“By contributing to the realisation of one of world’s largest offshore wind farms, Van Oord is again at the forefront of projects that contribute to the transition to renewable energy. Sofia will make a major contribution to the UK’s climate goals.”
He added: “The project will be executed by MPI Offshore from our Stokesley office in Teesside and will deliver excellent opportunities for the local supply chain and labour market and to support the industry’s UK Sector Deal ambitions.”
This foundations and array cables completes the main packages for Sofia with preferred supplier agreements already in place with Prysmian Group for export cables, a consortium of GE’s Grid Solutions and Sembcorp Marine for the transmission system, and Siemens Gamesa for 14MW turbines.