UK energy regulator Ofgem will launch its tenth Offshore Wind Transmission Owner (OFTO) tender round in the new year with over £1.5bn of combined grid links going up for sale.
Transmission infrastructure for 1.2GW Dogger Bank A, 860MW Moray West and 450MW Neart Na Gaoithe will be tendered as part of the round.
An enhanced pre-qualification round signalling the start of OFTO Tender Round 10 will launch on 26 January.
Under UK law, offshore wind developers must divest their transmission infrastructure assets within 18 months of their project generating power.
However, Ofgem faces a growing backlog of OFTO sales, with Tender Round 5 the last to be completed with the sale of Rampion’s assets in November 2021.
Of the Round 6 assets, only the links connecting ScottishPower Renewables and Green Investment Group’s 714MW East Anglia 1 to the grid are left to be transferred following a series of exemptions requested by the developers.
Tender Round 7, which launched in November 2020 and includes 857MW Triton Knoll and 900MW Moray East, is at preferred bidder and invitation to tender stage respectively.
Tender Round 8 started in July last year and solely includes 1368MW Hornsea 2, which is still open to bids, while Tender Round 9 launched in January 2022 solely comprising the transmission links for 1.1GW Seagreen 1. Bidding for this OFTO has yet to commence.