Today Ofgem has appointed Blue Transmission as the preferred bidder to own and operate the offshore transmission links to the West of Duddon Sands windfarm.
Blue Transmission, a consortium comprising Macquarie Capital Group Limited, 3i BIFL Investments Limited and Frontier Power Limited, was selected by Ofgem through a competitive process in which bidders compete to become offshore transmission owners (OFTOs). This means they will own and operate the cable and other transmission equipment.
The West of Duddon Sands Offshore Wind Farm, located in the East Irish Sea, comprises 108 wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 389MW. The estimated value of the transmission assets is £296m.
The West of Duddon Sands transmission assets were tendered under the second transitional tender round of the OFTO regime. Since the regime was set up by Ofgem and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in 2009 it has attracted £1.4 billion of investment and led to significant savings for consumers. A further £1.5 billion of transmission assets are currently in the tender process, with billions more in the pipeline.
Blue Transmission will own and operate the West Duddon Sands windfarm’s transmission system for the next 20 years.
Press Release, July 09, 2014; Image: DONG Energy