UK’s Ofgem opens tenders for links to Galloper and Walney Extension offshore wind farms

Ofgem has invited companies to submit bids to own and run links to two offshore wind farms. The links will connect the Galloper wind farm off the east coast of England, and the Walney Extension wind farm in the Irish Sea.

The two links represent the second stage of the fifth tender round (TR5) for offshore transmission owners (OFTOs). TR5 is the largest tender round to date, with over 2.3 GW of generation and an estimated value of £2 billion (US$2.43 billion).

Ofgem, which runs the tender process, will choose the most competitive bids from companies to own and run links to the offshore sites over a 20-year period. The launch of the second stage of TR5 comes after Ofgem announced shortlists of bidders for the first phase of TR5 earlier this month.

Companies have eight weeks to enter submissions for the Galloper and Walney Extension links. Ofgem will publish bidder shortlists for each project in the summer. 

The 336 MW Galloper offshore wind farm project is located 27km off the east coast of England and is adjacent to the Greater Gabbard project. The onshore connection point is at Sizewell, near Leiston. The transmission system will include offshore substation platforms, offshore and onshore AC export cables and an onshore substation.

The Walney Extension offshore wind farm is located approximately 19km from shore in the Irish Sea and connects to Heysham.