Transmission shortlist announced for West of Duddon Sands

UK: Four bidders have been shortlisted to operate the transmission link for Dong Enegy's 389MW West of Duddon Sands project, energy regulator Ofgem announced today.

by John McKenna 27 June 2013

UK grid operator National Grid and construction firm Skanska have fallen out of the running to hold the 20-year lease for the link, worth £311 million (EUR 367 million), reducing the longlist of six firms announced in February to the following four bidders: a joint venture of Balfour Beatty Investment and infrastructure fund manager Equitix; Blue Transmission, a consortium of Macquarie Capital, Barclays Infrastructure Funds Management, Mitsubishi Corporation and asset manager Frontier Power; John Laing Investments; and Transmission Capital Partners, a joint venture of infrastructure investors Transmission Capital Partners and Amber Infrastructure.

Of the five offshore transmission operators (OFTOs) concessions so far tendered by Ofgem, four have been won by Transmission Capital Partners and one by Blue Transmission, leading to criticism of a lack of competition in the tendering process  

Ofgem today said it expected to be able to announce details of the preferred bidder for the West of Duddon Sands OFTO in spring 2014.