Ofgem selects preferred bidder for owning the link to the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm

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. 

Transmission Capital Partners, a consortium comprising Transmission Capital Partners Limited Partnership and International Public Partnerships Limited, was selected by Ofgem following a tender in which bidders competed to become an Offshore Transmission Owner (OFTO). 

The Dudgeon wind farm is the first project to reach this stage in the fifth tender round which Ofgem has run for offshore transmission links. It is located off the coast of Cromer, Norfolk and has a capacity of 402MW. 

The wind farm will power close to 410,000 UK homes. The developer’s estimated value of the transmission assets is £377.2 million.

A consortium of Masdar, Statoil ASA and Statkraft currently owns the link.

The project is part of the Tender Round 5, launched in October 2016, whcih consists of five projects: Dudgeon, Race Bank, Walney Extension, Galloper and Rampion. The invitation to tender stages for the rest of the projects will take place over the next year. 

In early October we reported that Ofgem announced shortlists of bidders competing to own and operate transmission links to the Dudgeon, Rampion and Race Bank wind farms off the coasts of Norfolk and Sussex (UK), totalling 1,375 MW. The following 6 bidders were shortlisted:

• Dudgeon: Statoil, Statkraft, Masdar
• Balfour Beatty Investments.
• Equitix.
• Diamond Transmission Partners: Mitsubishi Corporation and HICL Infrastructure Company Limited.
• Mari Energy Transmission. Macquarie Capital Group Limited and Frontier Power Limited
• Transmission Capital Partners: International Public Partnerships Limited and Transmission Capital Partners LP.

We have recently reported about several transmission projects globally:

• 132 kW Rabal-Kilifi and Voi-Taveta transmission lines
• 1,090 MW electric transmission line project in North America
• Nueva Yanango - Nueva Huanuco connection and associated substations
• Mantaro - Nueva Yanango - Carapongo Connection and associated substations
• Fort McMurray West 500 kV transmission project
• 138 kV Aguaytía-Pucallpa transmission line