RWE has completed the installation of all 150 recyclable blades at its 1.4 gigawatt (GW) Sofia Offshore Wind Farm, marking the first large-scale use of recyclable blade technology in the United Kingdom.
The milestone comes as 62 of the 100 Siemens Gamesa 14MW turbines have now been installed, 195 km off the UK’s east coast. Each turbine reaches 252 metres in height.
Tobias Keitel, RWE Offshore Wind chief technical officer, said: “These latest construction achievements represent a key moment for RWE and Sofia. RWE continues to drive the delivery of one of the UK’s largest offshore wind projects, working collaboratively and safely with our partners to achieve our goals.”
He added: “Sofia remains firmly on track to complete full turbine installation within the first half of next year, with full commercial operations expected in the third quarter of 2026.”
Once fully operational, Sofia is expected to generate enough renewable electricity to supply around 1.2 million homes.
The recyclable rotor blades, manufactured by Siemens Gamesa in Hull, use a specially formulated resin that allows materials to be separated and repurposed into products such as vehicle components, bicycle helmets, and suitcases at the end of their lifecycle.
Sofia follows RWE’s previous use of recyclable blades at the Kaskasi Offshore Wind Farm in Germany and will be followed by selected installations at the Thor project off Denmark.
Situated on Dogger Bank in the central North Sea, Sofia is among RWE’s largest offshore wind projects under construction, reinforcing the company’s strategy of combining large-scale renewable generation with sustainable technology solutions.
