Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, announces today that it has been appointed preferred bidder for the transmission assets of the Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm project, located off the north coast of Wales in the UK, as part of the Offshore Transmission Owners ("OFTO") regulatory regime.
Gwynt y Môr has an indicative transfer value of £346 million. Balfour Beatty will invest 60% of the equity stake required for the project upon financial close, which is expected during the first half of 2014.
Once financial close has been achieved, Balfour Beatty, in a consortium with Equitix, will jointly own the 576-MW offshore high-voltage transmission asset and will be responsible for the asset’s operation and maintenance as well as connecting the wind farm to the onshore electricity transmission system. The OFTO will carry out its responsibilities through a 20-year license awarded by Ofgem, the UK Government’s regulator for gas and electricity markets.
Combined with the Thanet and Greater Gabbard offshore transmission assets which are expected to reach close later this year, Gwynt y Môr gives Balfour Beatty a leading investor position in this new and growing market, with responsibility for OFTO transmission assets worth £830 million with a combined transmission capacity of 1380 MW.
Balfour Beatty has also recently been selected by Ofgem to participate in the next round of bidding which will commence later this year for the West of Duddon Sands project which has an estimated transfer value of £310 million.
Balfour Beatty CEO, Andrew McNaughton, said: "Gwynt y Môr is a significant step in the development of our investment business in non-PPP infrastructure markets, as well as our wider strategy of developing our delivery capability in the offshore renewables industry. It firmly places Balfour Beatty in a leading position within the fast growing and potentially very large offshore transmission markets."
Today's announcement follows the competitive tender process initiated by Ofgem for the Gwynt y Môr offshore electricity transmission assets. Balfour Beatty's success reflects its expertise in infrastructure investment and its long-standing experience in the maintenance of offshore transmission assets.
