OFGEM has announced that Equitix, in its consortium with Kyuden International Corporation and Kyushu Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Company, has been named as preferred bidder in Tender Round 9 for the Seagreen 1 Offshore Electricity Transmission (OFTO) project.
Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm has been developed by Seagreen Wind Energy Limited (SWEL), a joint venture between SSE Renewables and TotalEnergies. The wind farm comprises 114 turbines with a maximum installed capacity of 1,075MW, equivalent to generating enough renewable power for more than 1.6 million homes (or two-thirds of all Scottish homes).
The transmission assets consist of three cables, each roughly 64 kilometres long, carrying power from the offshore wind farm to landfall and a further 20 kilometres inland to the onshore substation in Angus, Scotland. At Asset Transfer, Equitix and Kyuden Group will receive a minimum 24-year contracted revenue, with the potential to extend alongside the operational wind farm.
Preferred bidder status for the offshore transmission licence for Seagreen follows a competitive Offshore Transmission Tender process.
Formal acquisition of the assets and grant of an OFTO license will be expected after negotiations and contracts with regulatory authorities in the UK and the offshore wind farm developer, among others.