Ofgem has appointed Diamond Transmission Partners as the preferred bidder to own and operate the transmission connection for the Galloper offshore windfarm over the next 20 years.
The consortium, comprising the Mitsubishi Corporation and the HICL Infrastructure Company, was selected as part of the fifth tender round under the offshore transmission owners (OFTO) regime.
Diamond Transmission Partners will acquire the link from a consortium that includes Innogy, Siemens, the Sumitomo Corporation and another consortium managed by the Green Investment Group and Macquarie. The assets have been initially valued at £329.1 million.
Mari Energy Transmission has been named as the reserve bidder.
The Galloper windfarm, located 30 kilometres of the coast of Suffolk, became operational in March. It features 56 turbines with a combined capacity of 353MW.
As part of the fifth tender round, which began in September 2016, Ofgem has already granted an OFTO licence for the Dudgeon offshore windfarm to Transmission Capital Partners.
In June, the regulator named Diamond Transmission Partners as the preferred bidder for Race Bank and is currently inviting tenders for the Walney Extension. Tendering for the Rampion offshore windfarm will commence shortly.
The sixth tender round, covering the Hornsea One, Beatrice and East Anglia One projects, kicked off in October.