£1.9bn wind power contracts up for grabs

ENERGY regulator Ofgem has launched a £1.9bn competitive tendering process for the high voltage transmission links required to connect off-shore wind farms to the national grid.

The tender concerns two projects off the North West coast: Gwynt-y-Mor, near the Dee Estuary and West of Duddon Sands, close to Barrow-in-Furness.

The process also affects four other wind farms: Lincs near Skegness; the London Array in the Thames Estuary; Humber Gateway, off the East Yorkshire Coast; and Race Bank in Norfolk.

It is the second tender round administered by the Department of Energy and Climate Change and Ofgem to encourage what they describe as “cost-effective investment”.

Companies will be competing for the right to own and operate the links to 2.8 GW of offshore wind farms for the next 20 years.

Energy minister Charles Hendry said: “We have 40% of Europe’s wind and we have 11,000 km of coastline. We ought to be using those resources for our future energy security, but to do this we need to get the investment in the infrastructure that will make this happen.

“I hope the second round of tendering for owning and operating the links to offshore wind farms will be as successful as the first, where investment interest was four times the necessary level. This competition also means savings for generators and consumers, which I very much welcome”.

Ofgem’s Chief Executive Alistair Buchanan, said: “Britain needs to attract £200bn of investment in its energy industry over the next 10 years – £20bn will be for offshore transmission links. Therefore it is very encouraging that we have seen such strong competition for the first round of transmission links.

“This looks set to continue for the second round and healthy competition will keep the costs of the links as low as possible and give generators confidence that the offshore regime is proving very attractive to investors and is bringing new players into the UK transmission market.”