Sif Logs Upcoming Order as UK Closes Sixth CfD Round; Launches New Production Line at ‘World’s Largest Monopile Factory’

September 3, 2024, by Adrijana Buljan

Sif is in exclusive negotiations for a 140-kilotonne monopile foundation project for an offshore wind farm that was awarded a Contract for Difference (CfD) in the UK’s Allocation Round 6 (AR6), the Dutch company informed following the announcement of the AR6 results.

“It is expected that a final contract will be reached before the end of 2024. At that moment more information can be shared on the content of the project. Execution of the works is foreseen for 2026. This will increase Sif’s orderbook for 2026 to 210 kilotonnes”, Sif said in an investors’ update on 3 September, leaving the project and the client unnamed.

As reported earlier today, the UK government has awarded CfDs to offshore wind projects totalling approximately 5.3 GW in generation capacity.

This includes contracts for 266 MW from Inch Cape and a further 73.50 MW from the under-construction Moray West in Scotland. In England, CfDs were awarded for 963.07 MW from East Anglia Two, 158.90 MW from East Anglia Three, 2,400 MW from Hornsea 4, and 1,080 MW from Hornsea 3. One floating wind project, Green Volt in Scotland, also secured state support for 400 MW capacity.

Sif also posted an update on social media on 3 September, revealing that the company launched the first production line in the expanded factory at its Maasvlakte 2 site in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with the first plates already welded and rolled.

The Dutch offshore wind foundation supplier made the final investment decision (FID) to build the extension to its factory in February 2023, allocating EUR 328 million to realise the project, which Sif says will make its Maasvlakte facilities the world’s largest monopile foundation manufacturing plant.

The upgraded manufacturing plant is expected to significantly increase the total combined capacity of Sif to 500 kilotons a year and upgrade Sif’s capabilities to manufacture the equivalent of 200 XXXL, 11-metre diameter, 2,500 tonnes reference monopile foundations a year.