Blue Transmission Walney 2 Limited, a consortium of Macquarie Capital Group Limited and Barclays Infrastructure Funds Management Limited, has today been granted a licence to own and operate the transmission link to the Walney 2 wind farm. This is the second high voltage link which has received funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Ofgem E-Serve appointed Blue Transmission to take over ownership of the link from Walney Windfarms Limited following a competitive tender under the Offshore Transmission Owner (OFTO) regime. Walney Windfarm Limited is owned by DONG Energy, Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) and OPW[1].
Simon Brooks, European Investment Bank Vice-President for the UK, said “Long term financing of the Walney 2 transmission link will bring down the cost of renewable energy paid by consumers. The European Investment Bank is committed to supporting investment in renewable energy across Europe, including grid links and windfarms. Ensuring funding for projects such as the Walney 2 link is essential for infrastructure investment that promotes climate action.”
Lord Mogg, Ofgem Chairman, said: "The EIB's major investment in Walney 2 is a further strong endorsement of the competitive approach that is at the heart of GB's Offshore regime."
The European Investment Bank has so far approved funding totalling just under £1bn for offshore transmission projects, split evenly between Round 1 and Round 2A. They are also currently evaluating possible use of an EIB Project Bond Instrument to attract bond finance for offshore transmission links, tendered by Ofgem.
Blue Transmission is buying the link for £110m with half of the debt funding for the purchase being provided by the EIB and the remaining funding being provided by four commercial lenders. This brings the total amount of investment in Transitional Tender Round 1 to around £470m.