The high-voltage electricity transmission link connects Eon鈥檚 219MW offshore wind farm in the North Sea, 8km from the east Yorkshire coast, to the onshore transmission grid. The 73 turbines are capable of generating enough electricity for around 170,000 homes each year.
The Balfour Beatty Equitix Consortium was awarded preferred bidder status by Ofgem in September 2015 to own and operate the Humber Gateway offshore transmission link.
The consortium will own and operate the link to Eon鈥檚 Humber Gateway wind farm for the next 20 years. Balfour Beatty will invest 拢12.5m of the total required equity of 拢21m.
Balfour Beatty鈥檚 power transmission and distribution business will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the OFTO鈥檚 assets, including one offshore and one onshore substation and two cable circuits consisting of 18km of subsea and 30km of land cable.
Balfour Beatty Investments chief executive Ian Rylatt said: 鈥淭his is our fourth OFTO contract to reach financial close and further establishes our position in the offshore transmission market. Our technical expertise ensures we can efficiently and effectively, support the government鈥檚 targets to meet more of the UK鈥檚 energy needs through renewable sources.鈥�
Balfour Beatty鈥檚 other offshore transmission investments include the 拢352m Gwynt y M么r OFTO and the 拢164m Thanet OFTO 2014.
The European Investment Bank is providing an 拢82m 19-year loan for the Humber Gateway OFTO. This represents nearly 50% of eligible project costs and the long-term EIB loan is alongside senior debt provided by three commercial banks.
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
