EDF has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with RWE to buy the entire output of the Sofia offshore wind farm over the 15-year contract.
With a generation capacity of 1.4GW, Sofia is set to become one of the world’s largest offshore wind farms, producing 6.5TWh per year – enough to meet the annual electricity needs of more than 1.2 million homes.
Philippe Commaret, managing director for customers at EDF, said: “This agreement marks a major milestone in our progress towards achieving net zero, as well as the UK’s ambition to grow offshore wind capacity to 40 gigawatts by 2030.
“We are focused on working with partners like RWE to furnish the grid with the scale of renewable energy that it so desperately needs. This is exciting news for our customers and will also set a precedent for the UK’s energy industry – delivering large scale, practical solutions on the road to net zero.”
Sven Utermohlen, chief executive of offshore wind at RWE Renewables, said: “The UK plays a key role in RWE’s strategy to grow its renewables business and to become carbon neutral by 2040. Sofia will be one of the largest single offshore wind farms in the world once constructed, the signing of the PPA with EDF demonstrates our ability to support electricity suppliers in providing CO2-free power to their customers.”
The wind farm, which secured a strike price of £39.65/MWh (2012 prices) in the last Contracts for Difference auction in 2019, will be comprised of 100 turbines, each standing 252 metres tall.
Onshore construction began in June of this year. Offshore installation is scheduled to commence in 2023, with the first power being generated in 2025 and the project being completed in 2026.