Ofgem launches £1bn Dogger Bank tender  

Ofgem is inviting investors to bid for up to an estimated £1 billion worth of offshore transmission assets at Dogger Bank B wind farm.

The energy regulator has confirmed that its latest tender round is the largest so far.

Under the Offshore Transmission Owners (OFTO) regime, investors bid to own and operate the transmission connections built by the developers of offshore wind farms. Subject to meeting availability targets, they receive guaranteed returns for 25 years.

The Dogger Bank B tender is for 1.2GW of assets.

Ofgem said it will soon announce the winners of bids for Dogger Bank A, Neart na Gaoithe and Moray offshore wind farms this year – estimated at £2 billion. It is expecting to launch four more tenders for Dogger Bank C (1.2GW), East Anglia 3 (1.4GW), Inch Cape (1GW) and Sofia (1.4GW) early in 2025 – totalling around £7 billion of assets.

Since 2009 the OFTO regime has brought in investment of £6.7 billion for 26 assets.

Dogger Bank is the world’s largest offshore wind farm under construction and is being developed and built by SSE Renewables in a joint venture with Norway’s Equinor and Vårgrønn (a joint venture of Eni Plenitude and HitecVision).

The 3.6GW project is being constructed in three phases, which will eventually comprise 277 turbines.

Located 131km from the coast, Dogger Bank B is the largest phase of the development.

Last week, SSE warned that the first phase of its Dogger Bank project could be delayed until next year.

Construction on Dogger Bank A began in Spring 2022 and in October last year it began producing power for the first time.

Commercial operations were due to follow this year, however in its Q3 2023 trading statement, SSE revealed that challenging weather conditions, along with vessel availability and supply chain delays have had an impact on Dogger Bank A’s construction.

The company added: “Following notification of further vessel unavailability over the coming weeks there is an increasing possibility that full operations will not be achieved until 2025, although this is not expected to materially change project returns.

“The business is working closely with its supply chain partners to improve current turbine installation rates, with a further update on progress to be provided in May with publication of FY24 Results.”