Ofgem has shortlisted bidders competing to own and operate transmission links to the Galloper and Walney Extension wind farms off the coasts of Cumbria and Suffolk.
The following bidders have been shortlisted: Diamond Transmission Partners; Mari Energy Transmission and Transmission Capital Partners.
The two links are the final projects of the five to be tendered under the fifth round of the Offshore Transmission Owner (OFTO) regime.
The assets in the fifth round have an estimated value of £2 billion and will connect 2.3GW of generation capacity, making it the biggest tender round to date.
The bidders will now go through to the Invitation to Tender stage. Following that, Ofgem will appoint the preferred bidder for each link.
At the final stage, Ofgem appoints a bidder as an OFTO. The OFTO will receive a fixed revenue stream for operating the link for 20 years under the terms of their licence, subject to the availability of their assets.