The first apprentices set to work on RWE’s largest offshore wind farm have started their training programmes.
Four recruits have joined the company to support the development of the 1.4GW Sofia offshore wind farm, which is to be operated and maintained from Grimsby’s Royal Dock. They will be based at the hub, currently being expanded from purely serving Triton Knoll offshore wind farm, once they have completed their educational studies.
The trainee wind turbine technicians will attend RWE’s national apprenticeship hub at Coleg Llandrillo in Wales ahead of Sofia entering its operational phase in 2025. Aged 17 and 18, the four are Alisha Doughty, Preston Hart, Munro Pearson and Madeleine Warburton. All are from the region, and demonstrated a passion for engineering and the renewable energy industry as part of their selection for the three-year course.
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Sofia project director, Matthew Swanwick, said: “Welcoming our first apprentices to the Sofia offshore wind farm is a huge milestone in the project. Living close to Grimsby, as part of our growing team operating the wind farm based in our Grimsby hub, I am sure they will make a valuable contribution to the communities we operate within. Sofia will make a significant contribution towards the country’s net zero targets, and be capable of generating enough clean electricity equivalent to meeting the needs of over 1.2 million typical UK homes.”
A former pupil of New Waltham’s Toll Bar Academy, Munro, “My interest in becoming a wind turbine technician started through GCSE science where I learned about renewable energy and basic electrical and mechanical processes. I love the idea of being part of a growing green industry in my local area which shows great opportunities for when I finish my apprenticeship.”
Alisha added: “For me personally being part of a company working towards keeping our world a green clean environment is so rewarding. I spent five years studying at Humberston Academy where I took on subjects such as geography and triple science which further sparked my interest in renewables.”
The apprentices will join a team of 20 new offshore wind turbine technicians recently appointed and joining the development team over the coming months. Sofia is sited on Dogger Bank in the central North Sea, more than 100 km off the North Yorkshire coast. Offshore construction recently started, installing subsea cable infrastructure. Work on the onshore infrastructure, such as the onshore converter station and cable corridor, began in June 2021.
Original artice – https://business-live.co.uk/all-about/yorkshire-humber
