Offshore wind supply chain opportunities to be showcased by RWE’s Sofia

Posted on 15 June 2021

Starting in July, the 1.4 gigawatt (GW) Sofia Offshore Wind Farm – one of the largest single offshore wind projects in the world - and its key contractors will host a series of webinars to showcase upcoming contract opportunities for potential suppliers, particularly from the North East of England.

Being coordinated by NOF and Energi Coast, North East of England’s offshore wind cluster, the free online events will be around an hour long and will feature the Tier 1 contractors – those supplying the project's key components including turbines, foundations, array and export cables, and the transmission system - in individual sessions focussed on their work scopes.

Each Tier 1 contractor will give an overview of the goods and services they will be looking to contract for the project and the timeframe for procurement - starting with foundation and array cable supplier Van Oord on Tuesday 6 July.

Sofia’s Supply Chain Plan Manager Graham Wright has emphasised the importance of the events for all North East suppliers who are keen to find out about the upcoming contract opportunities during the project’s construction.

“This year there will be at least four webinars in the series, with a possible fifth to be confirmed,  so we would encourage all those with an interest or involvement in the sector to register for each event that is relevant.”

Registrations to the events are now open for those interested in finding out about the project's opportunities. There will also be follow up one-to-one sessions for suppliers, selected by the Tier 1 contractors according to their specific requirements.

NOF Deputy Chief Executive Joanne Leng said that the organisation is proud to be working with RWE on Sofia’s supplier engagement. The project is sited on Dogger Bank, 195 kilometres from the North East coast and its onshore electrical infrastructure will be located near Redcar, Teesside.

“Several meet the buyer activities are planned for 2021 which will enable the supply chain to have sight of procurement timelines from the Tier 1 contractors and the detail of what will be required,” she said.

“RWE really stands out as a developer committed to both UK and local content and its willingness to go the extra mile working in partnership with their Tier 1 contractors means supply chain opportunities are presented in a timely and informative manner.”

Offshore wind supply chain companies interested in the project should make a note of these dates:

• Episode 1: Tuesday, July 6 - Van Oord, delivering the foundations and array cables
• Episode 2: Wednesday, July 7 - GE’s Grid Solutions and Sembcorp Marine, responsible for the electrical transmission system
• Episode 3: Thursday, July 8 - Prysmian, fabricating and installing the export cables

In September there will also be an introductory supply chain event from turbine supplier Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy.

Each webinar is free to attend and is being organised by NOF and Energi Coast. More details, including how register can be found in the Sofia Supplier Portal.