Energy transmission

We are a leading developer and manager of U.K. offshore energy transmission and own seven projects.

Offshore transmission plays an integral part in attaining the Government’s target to provide 20% of the U.K.’s energy needs from renewable sources by 2020. Efficient delivery of transmission assets for offshore wind energy projects forms a core part of the strategy for reaching this objective in the most cost effective manner.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), together with The Office of the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (Ofgem), developed a regulatory regime for the construction and operation of offshore transmission assets to facilitate this objective. Ofgem runs a competitive tender process to select and licence Offshore Transmission Owners (OFTOs).

OFTO projects form an infrastructure sector in their own right, created from the sale by wind farm developers of the transmission cables and sub-stations linking the wind farm generation activities (i.e. turbines) to the national grid.

The sector has been born through the requirement for electricity companies to “unbundle” generation activities from transmission activities in accordance with European Union regulations.

The Amber-led consortium has been extremely successful and is the largest owner of OFTO projects:

• Robin Rigg East and West (180MW)
• Gunfleet Sands 1 & 2 (173MW)
• Barrow (90MW)
• Ormonde (150MW)
• Lincs (270MW)
• Westermost Rough (205MW)
• Dudgeon (402MW)

Amber is well-positioned to take advantage of the future OFTO projects.

We use our experience in the transmission and regulated sectors to pursue transmission, interconnector and other utilities opportunities across Europe and Australia.

For further details of the OFTO regime please visit

www.ofgem.gov.uk/Networks/offtrans/Pages/Offshoretransmission.aspx