Ofgem has appointed Diamond Transmission Partners as the preferred bidder to own and operate the offshore transmission link of the Walney Extension offshore wind farm in the UK.
The consortium of HICL Infrastructure Company, Diamond Transmission Corporation and Chubu Electric Power will be operating the wind farm’s transmission link for a period of 20 years.
HICL said that the consideration for its 40% share of the economic interest in the Walney OFTO is expected to be approximately GBP 23 million.
The completion of the acquisition is expected towards the end of this calendar year.
Walney Extension represents the fourth successful OFTO bid by the HICL and Diamond Transmission Corporation partnership, HICL said. Previous awards include the Burbo Bank Extension OFTO , which has reached financial close, the Race Bank OFTO and the Galloper OFTO , where Diamond Transmission Partners have been selected as preferred bidder.
Walney Extension comprises 40 MHI Vestas 8MW turbines and 47 Siemens Gamesa 7MW turbines located off the coast of Cumbria.
The 659MW offshore wind farm was officially inaugurated at the beginning of September 2018.