The EKITD consortium has been selected by the UK Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) as the preferred bidder for the offshore transmission owner (OFTO) project of the 1.2GW Dogger Bank A offshore wind farm in the UK North Sea.
The consortium comprises funds managed by Equitix Investment Management and Kyuden Group, which includes Kyuden International and Kyushu Electric Power Transmission and Distribution.
According to the consortium, the Dogger Bank A offshore wind farm project is the first OFTO project in the UK to utilise direct current (DC) transmission technologies.
Valued at about £928m, the Dogger Bank A project’s offshore electricity transmission assets include land cables, subsea cables, an offshore substation, and an onshore substation.
The OFTO assets will link the offshore wind farm project to the onshore grid under a transmission licence awarded by Ofgem.
Kyuden Group and Equitix will operate Dogger Bank A project’s electricity transmission business for a period of 25 years.
The formal acquisition of the assets and award of an OFTO licence are expected following negotiations and contracts with regulatory authorities in the UK, the offshore wind farm developer, and others.
Located about 130km from the coastline of Yorkshire, England, the Dogger Bank A offshore wind farm project is being developed as a joint venture partnership between SSE Renewables, Equinor, and Vårgrønn.
The offshore wind project will be equipped with 95 13MW turbines from General Electric and is anticipated to produce enough clean energy for over two million households.
In December 2023, Ofgem selected the EKITD consortium as the preferred bidder for the OFTO project of phase 1 of the 1.1GW Seagreen offshore wind farm in Scotland.
