A German company has unveiled the new turbine blade design for its offshore wind farm, a project that is expected to provide power for a massive number of homes.
According to Interesting Engineering, RWE debuted the 354-foot turbine blades, which are being manufactured at a plant in Hull, England. The giant blades are the key piece of the Sofia Offshore Wind Farm, a landmark project that is under construction in the North Sea, 121 miles off England's coast.
The giant blades will each be attached to the 100 turbines, which are rated at 14 megawatts apiece, and, according to RWE, 44 of the 100 sets of blades will be fully recyclable when they need replacing.
"To see these impressive turbine blades being produced, ready to be installed at our flagship Sofia offshore wind farm, is a fantastic demonstration of the true value that offshore wind brings to coastal communities, such as Hull," RWE's UK country chairperson Tom Glover said. "The potential for job creation within the renewable supply chain is huge."
The Hull blade factory is reportedly the largest in the world, according to operator Siemens Gamesa. It has employed close to 1,300 people in the UK for the Sofia project, which is slated to begin operating in 2026.
When completed, the Sofia Offshore Wind Farm is projected to produce enough energy to power a staggering 1.2 million homes in the UK, which would make a massive dent in the push to erase reliance on dirty fuels.
Offshore wind farms like Sofia have taken off in popularity thanks to massive technological advances. In Maryland, an offshore wind project has been approved that could power 770,000 households. Meanwhile, Japan is pushing the technological envelope, researching the next generation of offshore wind innovation. And WindFloat Atlanta, a semi-submersible offshore farm off the coast of Portugal, has been generating enough power for 25,000 homes annually.
RWE has secondary, smaller projects in the North Sea; a pair of Dogger Bank South wind farms would combine to generate another 3 gigawatts of power.
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