U.K. Offshore Windfarms Given £300 Million Boost

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The European Investment Bank (EIB) (Kirchberg, Luxembourg) is considering offering £300 million ($492 million) to fast-track the connection of U.K. offshore windfarms to the country's national grid. The news comes just a month after energy regulator Ofgem revealed a shortlist of 13 companies that will be allowed to bid for nine contracts to build and operate high-voltage transmission links with offshore windfarms. The combined value of these contracts is £1.15 billion ($1.88 billion). For additional information, see related news item from October 1, 2009 - Ofgem Reveals Shortlist for £1.15 Billion Offshore Grid.

The £300 million EIB windfall will be available for six projects, which collectively will connect about 1.6 gigawatts of offshore generation. "The European Investment Bank welcomes Ofgem's initiative in promoting this essential element of the U.K.'s renewable energy infrastructure," said Simon Brooks, vice president of the European Investment Bank. "Electricity from offshore windfarms will make a key contribution to national power supply and help achieve 2020 emissions targets."

The issue of slow connection times to the grid, particularly with regard to windfarms, has already been noted by the U.K. government, which has promised to overhaul the process. For additional information, see related article from September 1, 2009 - Faster Grid Connection for U.K. Renewable Power. Some windfarms, for instance, have been given connection dates years after they are scheduled to start operation.

Ofgem Chairman Lord Mogg added: "The EIB's decision to consider these projects for funding of over £300 million is an important step forward for delivering competitively priced connections for offshore windfarms. By adopting a competitive process for connections Ofgem E-Serve is endeavouring to keep the cost of connection to generators as low as possible. This brings benefits to consumers, who will ultimately fund the £15 billion ($24.6 billion) required to connect the 33 gigawatts of offshore generation needed to help meet Britain's emission targets.

"Ofgem's recent review of the challenges Britain faces in securing energy supplies and achieving climate-change targets has shown that investment in offshore wind could play a vital role in helping Britain meet its climate change targets and in reducing its dependence on imported gas."

The 13 groups on Ofgem's shortlist include:

• ABN Amro Infrastructure Capital Management Limited
• Balfour Beatty Capital Limited
• DONG Energy Sales and Distribution A/S
• Equitix (a consortium of Equitix and AMP)
• ESB International Limited
• Frontier Power Consortium (a consortium of Frontier Power Limited and Infracapital Partners LP)
• Imera Limited
• Macquarie Caital Group Limited
• National Grid Offshore Limited
• RWE npower plc
• SSE Offshore Transmission Limited
• a consortium of Statkraft UK Limited and StatoilHydro UK Holdings Limited
• Transmission Capital Partners (a consortium of International Public Partnerships Limited, Transmission Capital Limited and Amber Infrastructure Limited)

In welcoming the announcement, Minister of Energy Lord Hunt commented: "The EIB's support will be very welcome. Connecting offshore windfarms to the grid quickly and cost-effectively will be crucial to tackling climate change and securing our future energy supplies. This money would help projects currently under construction get their cables in the water and feeding into the grid quickly and cheaply."

IIR's Renewable Energy Database provides extensive coverage on the Wind Energy, Geothermal, Hydroelectric, Landfill Gas-to-Energy and Utility-Scale Solar power plants throughout North America, and is now expanding coverage across the world.

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