OFGEM – the British gas and electricity markets regulator – has announced a shortlist of five bidders competing to own and run the £230 million transmission link to the Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farm in Liverpool Bay.
The shortlist shows there is strong competition to own the link and the bidders will go through to the final stage of the tender where Ofgem will appoint the Offshore Transmission Owner (OFTO) for this project.
The owner/ successful bidder will receive a guaranteed revenue stream for 20 years under the terms of their licence, subject to availability of the assets. The following bidders have been shortlisted:
- Balfour Beatty Equitix Consortium (a consortium comprising Balfour Beatty Investments Ltd and Equitix Ltd)
- Dalmore Capital Limited (acting in its capacity as manager of the PPP Equity PIP)
- Diamond Transmission Partners (consortium comprising Mitsubishi Corporation and HICL Infrastructure Company Ltd
- Mari Energy Transmission (consortium comprising Macquarie Corporate Holdings Pty Ltd and Frontier Power Ltd)
- Transmission Capital Partners (consortium comprising International Public Partnerships Ltd and Transmission Capital Partners Ltd Partnership)
OFGEM expects to announce details of the preferred bidder for the Burbo Bank Extension project in April 2017.
The Burbo Bank Extension project is being tendered under the fourth round of the OFTO regime. Since the regime was set up in 2009, it has attracted nearly £3 billion investment and led to significant savings in the costs of delivering offshore wind.
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