Ofgem chooses bidder to operate connections for world’s largest wind farm
Ofgem has selected Diamond Transmission Partners as the preferred bidder to own and operate the £1.2bn high voltage transmission connection link serving Hornsea 2 offshore wind farm.
Diamond Transmission Partners is a consortium comprising Mitsubishi Corporation and HICL Infrastructure.
It was selected by Ofgem following the Offshore Transmission Owners (OFTOs) bidding process to own and operate the asset for the next 24 years.
Green energy developer Ørsted’s 165 turbine Hornsea 2 wind farm is based 89km from the Yorkshire coast and has a capacity of 1.32GW.
Its transmission assets – which connect to National Grid’s electricity transmission network at Killingholme – are the most valuable yet brought to market through Ofgem’s OFTO regime.
The initial estimated value of the transmission assets is around £1.2bn.
When the final value of the assets has been agreed by Ofgem, Diamond Transmission Partners will pay the final amount to Ørsted.
Akshay Kaul, Ofgem Interim Director of Infrastructure and Security of Supply, said: “Connecting offshore wind farms such as Hornsea 2 to Great Britain’s electricity transmission network helps harness the power of North Sea wind to deliver renewable energy supplies to British consumers. The competitive OFTO regime helps ensure this is done at the least possible cost to consumers.”
Launched in 2009, the OFTO regime has secured over £7bn of private investment in offshore transmission assets, which have connected more than 10GW of offshore wind generation to Great Britain’s electricity transmission network.
The OFTO regime looks to provide global investors a steady income in return for reliable operation of vital infrastructure connecting renewable energy produced by offshore wind farms to the UK’s electricity transmission network.
Ofgem estimates up to 13 OFTO assets with a value of around £10bn will be tendered through the OFTO regime between 2023 and 2025,
This will be essential to delivering Government’s target of making a further 40GW of offshore wind generation operational by the end of this decade.