The type of procedure to be adopted is a competitive procedure with negotiation (please note that item ‘IV.1.1’ of this notice is a mandatory field and for the purpose of completing this notice we have selected ‘Negotiated’. However, the appropriate procedure that we are running this procurement process under is ‘Competitive Procedure with Negotiation’). The subject matter of this OJEU notice is the proposed grant of an offshore transmission licence to a successful bidder for the purpose of connecting a wind farm to the GB onshore grid. Great Britain continues to be a global leader in the development of offshore wind energy. Since 2009, we have run competitive tenders to select and licence Offshore Transmission Owners (OFTOs) to own and operate the assets that connect offshore wind farms to the onshore network. From the outset the offshore transmission regime has encouraged innovation and attracted new sources of technical expertise and finance, whilst ensuring that grid connections are delivered efficiently and effectively. In 2014 we published a study by CEPA/BDO who found that using tendering saved between 200 000 000 GBP and 400 000 000 GBP in our first tender round. We have also recently published a further study by CEPA which evaluated the benefits of competition delivered by tender rounds two and three. This has indicated further savings of between 428 000 000 GBP and 749 000 000 GBP.
Building on an already established regime for the awarding of offshore transmission licences in which approximately 2 900 000 000 GBP of assets have been tendered for over 14 projects, Ofgem is now running a further tender competition. TR4 consists of one project, identified in this notice as a Qualifying Project' in accordance with the Tender Regulations. A transmission licence is expected to be granted for this project. High level details about this project are as follows:
Project: Burbo Bank Extension;
Developer: Burbo Extension Limited
Capacity (MW): 258.
The successful bidder in this tender will enter into a transfer agreement for the purchase of offshore transmission assets constructed by the developer and then maintain and operate the assets in accordance with the offshore transmission licence and relevant industry codes, standards and agreements. In addition to being granted the offshore transmission licence, the successful bidder will be required to enter into a range of agreements including with the generator, any relevant distribution network owner and the National Electricity Transmission System Operator.