Ofgem, which has been evaluating Enhanced Pre-Qualification (EPQ) submissions for Burbo Bank Extension, part of Tender Round 4, is scheduled to notify the bidders of the outcomes and publish the Qualifying Bidder shortlist this month. In addition, the UK’s energy market regulator has disclosed a more specified timetable for the Tender Round 5, for which it recently announced it will kick off in October.
The Offshore Transmission Owner (OFTO) Tender Round to appoint an OFTO for the the 258MW Burbo Bank Extension project, the only project in Tender Round 4, started on 7 April with the publication of the EPQ document. This month, Ofgem is expected to publish a shortlist of the qualifying bidders who will be invited to participate in the Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage in September. Preferred bidder will be announced in March 2017.
The Tender Round 5 will include the transmission systems of the 402MW Dudgeon offshore wind farm, the 336MW Galloper, the 580MW Race Bank, the 400MW Rampion, and the 660MW Walney Extension. The round will start in October with the launch of the EPQ stage for Dudgeon, Race Bank and Rampion offshore wind farms.
OFTO tenders for Walney Extension and Galloper offshore wind farms will start in March next year.
Across Tender Round 4 and Tender Round 5, Ofgem will appoint another six OFTOs, with a total value of OFTO investment estimated to be more than GBP 2 billion.