Balfour Beatty appointed preferred bidder for £163 million Offshore Transmission Network Owners ("OFTO") asset

Friday, Aug 06, 2010

Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, announces today that it has been appointed preferred bidder for the transmission assets of the Thanet offshore wind farm project, located off the most eastern part of Kent, as part of the Offshore Transmission Owners (“OFTO”) regulatory regime.

Once financial close has been achieved, Balfour Beatty will own, operate and maintain the offshore high-voltage transmission asset, which will connect the wind farm to the onshore electricity transmission system, through a 20-year licence awarded by Ofgem, the Government regulator for gas and electricity markets.

Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Ian Tyler, said:

"We are delighted to have been awarded preferred bidder status on this prestigious project. It is a significant step in our strategy to develop our non-PPP infrastructure investment business and is an excellent opportunity for Balfour Beatty to establish itself as a leading infrastructure investor and service provider within the offshore renewable industry.”

The indicative transfer value of the asset is £163 million. Balfour Beatty will invest 100% of the required equity in the project upon financial close, which is expected to be in 2010.

Today's announcement follows the competitive tender process launched by Ofgem in July 2009 for offshore electricity transmission assets. Balfour Beatty's success reflects its expertise in infrastructure investment and experience in offshore transmission maintenance.

Balfour Beatty is also one of the bidders for the £101 million offshore transmission assets of the Ormonde offshore wind farm project, located in the Irish Sea off Barrow-in-Furness, which Ofgem announced today has entered a further round of bidding.

Balfour Beatty currently works in the UK and in international markets on the design, construction, maintenance and installation of extra high-voltage transmission systems and currently delivers around £300 million per annum of transmission maintenance and construction worldwide.

Source: Balfour Beatty