Ofgem revealed short list for Britain offshore power links

Ofgem, Britain’s energy regulator, had short listed six bidders to operate and own the energy transmission lines of nine offshore wind farms. The links, worth more than £1 billion, is capable to connect up to 2,000MW of renewable energy.

The regulator’s delivery arm, Ofgem E-service, prepared the decision on the final short list of companies for each of the nine wind farms. The energy company said that this is the first stage of the £15 billion project to make sure that the links to the wind farms are installed cost-effectively and on time.

The winning bidder, to be announced in May next year, will take control the operations of the transmission links once they are installed. The company will run the offshore links, and in return, it will earn a regulated income for the next 20 years.

Included in the short list are firms Macquarie Capital Group, Balfour Beatty Capital, Green Energy Transmission, Dong Energy Sales and Distribution, Capital Partners, and National Grid Offshore.

The chief executive of Ofgem, Alistair Buchanan, said that if Britain is determined to meet its emission targets, the government must invest up to £200 billion for the offshore wind farm links. He added that the competition for the first batch of transmission links shows the strong interest of new entrants and the confidence of top energy companies in the tendering procedure.

This year, the British government introduced a fresh regulatory system for licensing offshore electric power transmissions, which uses competitive tendering to make sure that the cable links are delivered at a reasonable cost and on time.