AMP Capital Investors, through its European infrastructure business, has been named by OFGEM as the preferred bidder to become the Greater Gabbard offshore transmission owner (OFTO) as part of a consortium including Equitix and Balfour Beatty.
AMP Capital and its Green Energy Transmission (GET) consortium partners will own and operate the high voltage transmission link to the 500 MW Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm located off the coast of Suffolk.
Greater Gabbard is the largest of nine offshore wind farms in the first round of OFTO tenders. The forecast value of the asset to be transferred to the prospective OFTO is £316.6m, according to OFGEM.
AMP Capital Investors’ Head of Infrastructure Europe Boe Pahari said; “We are delighted to have been appointed preferred bidder to become the Greater Gabbard offshore transmission owner. This asset provides a strategic foothold for us within a sector we expect to grow significantly over the coming years, in line with European Union Directives to focus increasingly on renewable energy.
“This project further aligns our investment strategy of holding core high-quality assets within our infrastructure business in order to ensure sustainable and long-term value for our investors. We look forward to working with OFGEM and our consortium partners to achieve financial completion later this year.”
AMP Capital’s European infrastructure business invests in a portfolio of infrastructure assets diversified by European countries and sectors including, energy/utilities, transport, social and asset life cycles. Assets include Thames Water, Wales & West Utilities, Angel Trains and Compania Logistica de Hidrocarburos (CLH).
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Source: ampcapital, June 01, 2011