International investor, developer and fund manager Equitix has announced signing of a transaction to acquire the Seagreen Phase 1 offshore transmission assets.
Equitix, in its consortium with the Kyuden Group, will own operate and maintain the subsea and onshore export cables and offshore and onshore substations for the project for a 24-year period under the transmission license granted by Ofgem.
The Seagreen offshore wind power plant was developed by Seagreen Wind Energy Limited (SWEL), a joint venture owned by SSE Renewables, TotalEnergies and PTTEP. Sale of the transmission assets to the consortium, Seagreen Phase 1 OFTO (Offshore Transmission Owner) follows the completion of a competitive offshore transmission tender process by Ofgem.
The sale agreement is a requirement of the offshore transmission regime. Energy regulator Ofgem oversees the OFTO regime, which sees a company distinct from the offshore asset’s developer selected to own and operate the cabling that caries electricity generated at the offshore plant to the onshore network; Ofgem’s oversight is to ensure cost-effective and efficient electricity transmission.
The 1,057MW Seagreen offshore wind generation plant is 27km from the Angus coast and has been operational since October 2023. It is Scotland’s largest offshore wind plant and the world’s deepest fixed bottom offshore windfarm.
The transmission assets now owned by Seagreen Phase 1 OFTO transmit power from the offshore wind farm via three export cables (each approximately 64 km long) to landfall and a further 20 km inland to the onshore substation in Angus.
The sale adds to Equitix’s OFTO portfolio, comprising six assets with generation capacity of about 3.5GW. Equitix and Kyuden group are the preferred bidders on the Dogger Bank A offshore wind power plant, which is due to reach financial close this year.
The acquisition of the transmission assets was financed by equity from Equitix and the Kyuden Group and loans provided by a group of lenders including The Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Limited (London Branch), Mizuho Bank, Ltd., and Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited.
Equitix, along with a consortium of investors led by Japanese power firm Kansai Electric Power acquired a 50% stake in Electricity North West in 2019, the UK distribution network operator that Spanish utility Iberdrola took an 88% stake in last year, with Kansai and the consortium retaining the 12%.
Equitix also owns stakes in eight operational offshore wind plants in the UK in partnerships with Orsted, Equinor, RWE and Macquarie Asset Management, finalising the latter of these in April 2023.
Ofgem is currently accepting bids from investors for the transmission infrastructure that connects RWE’s 1.4GW Sofia offshore wind farm to the North Yorkshire electricity grid.
