The agreement has been concluded with international infrastructure group Balfour Beatty and has now been finalised following a tender process to select the new transmission owner managed by the UK energy regulator Ofgem.
The transmission infrastructure is now owned by Balfour Beatty. It consists of one offshore platform and associated substation, two subsea 132kV cables of 26.2 kilometres each, two 132kV onshore cables of 2.4 kilometres each and an onshore substation at Richborough.
Although Vattenfall will continue to own and operate the 100-turbine offshore wind farm itself, power from the wind farm will now be exported through the Balfour Beatty infrastructure.
“Vattenfall’s offshore wind business has strong foundations in the UK and we are keen to build on the three wind farms we currently have in operation in UK waters” said Piers Guy, Vattenfall’s UK Country Manager. “The completion of this complex deal helps us to put more effort into strengthening our UK wind energy business.”
Felix Würtenberger, Vattenfall’s BU Renewables Director of Commercial Steering and head of the transaction team, added that with the transaction complete Vattenfall can now focus on maximising Thanet’s already significant contribution to low carbon electricity supply in the UK.
Thanet Offshore Wind Farm’s two 26 kilometre cables were installed by Vattenfall in 2009 and the wind farm started exporting power to the National Grid in 2010. The company also owns the Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm (30 turbines) and the Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm (30 turbines).
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