Ofgem Names Galloper OFTO

Ofgem has selected Diamond Transmission Partners as the preferred bidder to own and operate the high voltage transmission link to the Galloper offshore wind farm in the UK.

The consortium of Mitsubishi Corporation and HICL Infrastructure Company Limited was selected through a tender process and will be operating the wind farm’s transmission link for the next 20 years.

The initial estimated value of the transmission assets is GBP 329.1 million. The preferred bidder will pay the amount to the developer once the final value has been agreed and once the bidder’s OFTO license has been granted.

Besides Diamond Transmission Partners, the remaining bidders included Mari Energy Transmission, a consortium of Macquarie Capital Group and Frontier Power, and Transmission Capital Partners, a consortium of International Public Partnerships and Transmission Capital Partners Limited Partnership.

The Galloper offshore wind farm comprises 56 Siemens Gamesa 6MW turbines spinning some 30km offshore Suffolk.

First power was generated in November 2017, while the 353MW project was officially inaugurated on 28 September.

The project is owned by innogy SE (25%), Siemens Financial Services (25%), Sumitomo Corporation (12.5%), ESB (12.5%) and a consortium managed by Green Investment Group and Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (25%).