Balfour Beatty will invest more than 拢20m of equity into the project.
The Thanet OFTO, previously operated by Vattenfall, is the high-voltage electricity transmission system connecting the 300MW Thanet Wind Farm, off the coast of Kent, to the onshore transmission grid, generating enough electricity for around 200,000 homes each year.
The assets include one offshore and one onshore substation and more than 50km of subsea cables. Balfour Beatty鈥檚 Services division is now responsible for the assets鈥� operations and maintenance under a licence granted by Ofgem with a 20-year revenue stream.聽
Balfour Beatty has now achieved financial close on two OFTO projects. In November 2013, it closed on the 拢317m Greater Gabbard OFTO in Suffolk, which has since delivered average availability close to 100%. The company also remains preferred bidder on the Gwynt y M么r OFTO in North Wales, which is expected to close in Q1 2015.
Executive chairman Steve Marshall said: 鈥淔or the Investments business, the offshore transmission market is an important part of its strategy to diversify into new markets and achieving financial close on our second project is a great success.
鈥淭his project, and this market, is also an example of how Balfour Beatty Services can derive revenues from the Investments business. Today鈥檚 announcement supports our wider strategy of developing our delivery capability in the offshore renewables industry.鈥�
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