Van Oord installs 1st monopile for 1.4-GW Sofia offshore wind project

Dutch marine contractor Van Oord announced on Tuesday that it has installed the first monopile foundation at the site of the 1.4-GW Sofia offshore wind project in the UK waters.

The company deployed its Aeolus installation vessel for the job.

The coming months will see Van Oord install all 100 monopile foundations, one each for Sofia’s 100 Siemens Gamesa wind turbines.

Manufactured by EEW in Rostock, Germany, the monopiles have a diameter of up to 8.8 metres (28.9 ft), a length of up to 92 metres and a weight of up to 1,530 tonnes. They are the so-called extended monopiles, which eliminate the need for a transition piece. To complete the turbine foundations, the monopiles will be equipped with secondary steel components consisting of main access platforms, internal platforms, boat landings and upper ladders, Van Oord said.

Sofia is a RWE AG (ETR:RWE) wind project, located 195 kilometres (121.2 miles) from the north-east coast of the UK.

Onshore works on the project began in June 2021, while offshore construction started in the late summer of 2023.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!