Prysmian inks € 200 million export cable contract for Sofia offshore wind farm

Prysmian Group and RWE Renewables have finalised the contract for the export cable connection of the 1.4 GW Sofia offshore wind farm, worth more than € 200 million.

The contract, which follows the preferred bidder agreement from November 2020, includes the development of the turn-key high voltage submarine and land export cable connection for the 1.4 GW offshore wind farm in the UK.

Prysmian will be responsible for the design, supply, installation and commissioning of an HVDC symmetrical monopole cable system that will connect Sofia’s offshore converter station with the onshore converter station in Teesside. The project involves more than 440 kilometres of ±320 kV submarine export cables with XLPE insulation, and 15 kilometres of ±320 kV land cables with P-Laser insulation.

The company’s new cable-laying vessel Leonardo da Vinci will debut on the project.

The finalisation of the contract comes shortly after RWE reached the financial investment decision on the 1.4 GW project worth around EUR 3.5 billion.

Onshore works are due to start this Spring and offshore construction will kick off in 2023. The offshore wind farm is expected to be up and running by the fourth quarter of 2026. 

The Sofia project, located on Dogger Bank, 195 kilometres from the nearest point on the UK’s North East coast, will feature 100 Siemens Gamesa 14 MW wind turbines.