Fid Financial Close

On 24 March 2021, RWE achieved a positive Final Investment Decision for the 1.4 GW Sofia Offshore Wind Farm on Dogger Bank, authorising the multi-billion pound investment in the project's development and construction. The FID covers the entire Sofia project including the offshore wind farm and the associated transmission assets that will form the Sofia OFTO — the offshore converter platform, HVDC export cable system, onshore converter station, and HVAC connection to National Grid's Lackenby substation in Teesside. Under the UK's developer-build-transfer model for offshore transmission, RWE (via Sofia Offshore Wind Farm Limited) takes the investment decision and builds the transmission infrastructure, which is then transferred to a licensed Offshore Transmission Owner (OFTO) following commissioning via Ofgem's competitive tender process. The FID was followed shortly afterwards by the signing of contracts with key component suppliers including Prysmian Group for the HVDC export cable system and GE Grid Solutions (now GE Vernova) with Sembcorp Marine (now Seatrium) for the HVDC converter stations. Onshore enabling works at the Teesside converter station site commenced in June 2021, marking the transition from development to construction. The FID was taken on the basis of Sofia's Contract for Difference (CfD) award and the project's Development Consent Order granted in August 2015, providing the revenue certainty and planning consent needed to commit to the investment.