RWE, one of the world’s leading companies in offshore wind, has unveiled the first of the state-of-the-art turbine blades being made at the Siemens Gamesa factory in Hull, marking a major milestone in the construction of the flagship project.
Guests at the event at Siemens Gamesa’s Hull factory. including Tom Glover, RWE UK Country Chair enjoyed a tour of the factory and saw the production process in action.
The 108 metre long blades are attached to each of the 100 x 14 megawatts (MW) offshore wind turbines which will operate at the heart of RWE’s Sofia Offshore Wind project. Once fully operational, the 1.4 gigawatts (GW) Sofia Offshore Wind Farm would be capable of generating enough clean, renewable electricity to power the equivalent of approximately 1.2 million typical UK homes every year.
Tom Glover, RWE UK Country Chair: “To see these impressive turbine blades being produced, ready to be installed at our flagship Sofia offshore wind farm, is a fantastic demonstration of the true value that offshore wind brings to coastal communities, such as Hull. The potential for job creation within the renewable supply chain is huge. Not just with companies like Siemens Energy, which is manufacturing the blades for Sofia at their blade factory here in the UK - but right across the supply chain. Sofia is a significant development for RWE in the UK, and we are delighted to be able to see that investment being maximised in support of important local, coastal communities.”
Darren Davidson, Vice President Siemens Energy UK&I: “Our wind power business Siemens Gamesa makes Siemens Energy a global market leader for renewable energies. At our offshore wind blade factory in Hull we’re powering the energy transition. We now employ over 1,300 people at the site, after recruiting more than 600 new employees over the last 12 months. We are proud to be a key supplier to RWE on a number of UK projects, including manufacturing the blades for Sofia. It’s great to have this project underway and unveil the first blade.”
Siemens Energy’s Hull blade factory is the largest manufacturing facility of its kind in the UK, having expanded to keep pace with the rapid growth of the offshore wind sector. Building on strong collaboration with RWE and other offshore wind developers, it has been a catalyst for further economic growth in the Humber region.
More than 50% of the investment in RWE’s Sofia Offshore Wind Farm project is spent within the UK. Siemens Energy will manufacture, install and commission all 100 of the very latest SG 14‑222 DD turbines. Each turbine will stand 252m tall, have 108m long turbine blades and a 222m rotor diameter. The total size of the wind farm will be 593km², approximately the size of the Isle of Man.
RWE has also confirmed that working with Siemens Gamesa, they will deploy recyclable blades on 44 of 100 turbines - a record 132 individual blades. This follows the successful installation of recyclable blades at RWE’s Kaskasi Offshore Wind Farm off the German island Heligoland.
The Sofia offshore wind farm project is located on Dogger Bank in the central North Sea, 195km off the north east coast of England. Offshore installation began earlier this year (2024), with project completion anticipated in 2026.
Operations and maintenance activities for Sofia will be managed from RWE’s new offshore wind operations base, the ‘Grimsby Hub,’ which also services RWE’s Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm. RWE is also developing in the region its two Dogger Bank South projects which, together, would have a potential installed capacity of around 3 GW.
Pictures of the new blade (credit: RWE) are available at the RWE Media Centre.
For more information about RWE’s Sofia offshore wind farm, visit our website.
