Van Oord has been selected by Germany-based multinational energy company RWE as the preferred supplier for the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) of the monopile foundations and array cables for the Sofia Offshore Wind Farm in the UK North Sea.
Van Oord will deploy the offshore installation vessel Aeolus (pictured) to install the 100 extended monopile foundations without transition pieces, while the 350 kilometres of array cables will be installed by the cable-laying vessel Nexus. The company will sub-contract the fabrication of the foundations and array cables.
Van Oord's UK branch MPI Offshore will create a logistics hub to deliver the comprehensive scope of work.
Onshore construction will get underway at Sofia's converter station site in Teesside early next year. Work on the foundation and array package is set to begin after the project's financial investment decision in the first quarter of 2021, with installation scheduled for 2024.