The high-voltage electricity transmission link connects Eon’s 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’s Humber Gateway wind farm for the next 20 years. Balfour Beatty will invest £12.5m of the total required equity of £21m.
Balfour Beatty’s power transmission and distribution business will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the OFTO’s 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: “This 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’s targets to meet more of the UK’s energy needs through renewable sources.”
Balfour Beatty’s other offshore transmission investments include the £352m Gwynt y Môr OFTO and the £164m Thanet OFTO 2014.
The European Investment Bank is providing an £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.
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