Ofgem has appointed Transmission Capital Partners as the preferred bidder to own and operate the high-voltage transmission link to the Dudgeon offshore wind farm for the next 20 years.
The appointment of Transmission Capital Partners, a consortium of Transmission Capital Partners Limited Partnership and International Public Partnerships Limited, follows a tender in which bidders competed to become an Offshore Transmission Owner (OFTO).
The reserve bidder for the project is Diamond Transmission Capital, a consortium of Mitsubishi Corporation and HICL Infrastructure Company, which Ofgem appointed as the preferred bidder to own and operate the offshore transmission link to the Burbo Bank Extension wind farm.
Ofgem’s fifth tender round, launched in October 2016, consists of five projects, including Dudgeon, Race Bank, Walney Extension, Galloper and Rampion, and is, with an estimated value of GBP 2 billion, the biggest tender round to date.
Dudgeon is the first project to reach this stage in the fifth round, the company said, adding that the invitation to tender stages for the rest of the projects will take place over the next year.
The 402MW wind farm, located some 32 kilometers off the coast of Norfolk, saw the last of its 67 Siemens 6MW wind turbines being installed in early September.
The Dudgeon offshore wind farm was officially opened on 22 November.
Statoil and Masdar each hold a 35% share in the wind farm, with the remaining 30% being owned by Statkraft, who commenced the formal divestment processes for its shares.