Ofgem selects preferred bidder for Race Bank offshore grid connection

Ofgem has selected Diamond Transmission Partners as the preferred bidder to own and operate the high voltage grid connection for the Race Bank offshore wind farm over the next 20 years.

The consortium, made up of the Mitsubishi Corporation and the HICL Infrastructure Company, was chosen by the regulator in the fifth round of competitive tenders under the offshore transmission owners (OFTO) regime.

The Race Bank wind farm is located 27 kilometres off the coast of Norfolk and features 91 turbines with a combined capacity of 573MW. The installation was officially opened last week.

Both the wind farm and its connection to the grid are currently owned by a consortium which includes Orsted, an infrastructure fund operated by Macquarie, and the Sumitomo Corporation.

The consortium has estimated the value of the transmission assets at £530.4 million. Ofgem will conduct its own cost assessment to determine the amount which the winning bidder will pay upon being granted an OFTO licence.

The fifth round of OFTO tenders began in 2016 and also covers the grid connections for the Dudgeon, Galloper, Walney Extension and Rampion offshore wind farms.

A consortium comprising Transmission Capital Partners and International Public Partnerships was selected as the preferred bidder to own the transmission link for Dudgeon in November. Ofgem is currently inviting tenders for Galloper and the Walney Extension but has yet to do so for Rampion.

Since the OFTO regime was launched in 2009 winning bidders have invested £3 billion in offshore transmission assets connecting 4.6GW of offshore wind capacity to the power grid. Ofgem says it has saved consumers at least £700 million so far across the first three tender rounds.

In April, Diamond Transmission Partners was awarded a licence to own and operate the £194 million transmission link for the Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farm in Liverpool Bay as part of the fourth round of tenders.