RWE has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with EDF to purchase renewable electricity from Sofia Offshore Wind Farm, which is set for full generation in 2026.
In what represents RWE’s and EDF’s largest renewable energy agreement to date, EDF will offtake all the wind energy that Sofia will produce, expected to be approximately 6.5 TWh each year. This equates to almost half of the electricity used in the northeast of England annually, or the equivalent of the power needs of 1.2 million U.K. homes.
With offshore installation expected to begin in 2023 and project completion due in 2026, Sofia will have a capacity of 1.4 GW. It will comprise 100 turbines, each standing at 252 meters tall.
“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,” says Philippe Commaret, managing director of customers at EDF. “We are focused on working with partners like RWE to furnish the grid with the scale of renewable energy that it so desperately needs.”
“The U.K. plays a key role in RWE’s strategy to grow its renewables business and to become carbon neutral by 2040,” states Sven Utermöhlen, CEO of offshore wind at RWE Renewables. “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.”
RWE is currently constructing Sofia and Triton Knoll offshore wind farms, which, when completed, will expand RWE’s current U.K. portfolio of nine operational offshore wind farms. In addition, in 2020, RWE signed agreements for lease with The Crown Estate to develop extension projects at four offshore wind farms.
