UK energy market regulator Ofgem has opened a tender round to grant two offshore transmission licences to connect the Moray East and the Triton Knoll offshore wind farms to the UK grid.
The tender process will consist of two stages for each project, an Enhanced Pre-Qualification (EPQ) stage, and an Invitation to Tender (ITT) stage, resulting in the selection of preferred bidders.
The tender remains open until 5 February 2021.
Located approximately 22 kilometres off the Caithness coastline in Northern Scotland, the 950 MW Moray East wind farm will comprise 100 MHI Vestas 9.5 MW wind turbines scheduled to be commissioned in 2022.
Moray East is being developed by Moray Offshore Windfarm East Ltd (MOWEL), a joint venture company owned by Ocean Winds (56.6%) Diamond Green Limited (33.4%), and China Three Gorges (10%).
The 857 MW Triton Knoll wind farm is being developed by RWE Renewables in partnership with J-Power and Kansai Electric Power.
Located some 33 kilometres off Lincolnshire, the wind farm will comprise 90 MHI Vestas 9.5 MW wind turbines.
The turbine installation at the site is expected to start in the first quarter of 2021 and the wind farm is slated for full commissioning in 2022.