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Tue March 19 2024

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Balfour Beatty closes on second OFTO

18 Dec 14 Balfour Beatty has reached financial close and completed the acquisition of the £164m Thanet offshore transmission project (OFTO).

Balfour Beatty will invest more than £20m of equity into the project.

The Thanet OFTO, previously operated by Vattenfall, is the high-voltage electricity transmission system connecting the 300MW Thanet Wind Farm, off the coast of Kent, to the onshore transmission grid, generating enough electricity for around 200,000 homes each year.

The assets include one offshore and one onshore substation and more than 50km of subsea cables. Balfour Beatty’s Services division is now responsible for the assets’ operations and maintenance under a licence granted by Ofgem with a 20-year revenue stream. 

Balfour Beatty has now achieved financial close on two OFTO projects. In November 2013, it closed on the £317m Greater Gabbard OFTO in Suffolk, which has since delivered average availability close to 100%. The company also remains preferred bidder on the Gwynt y Môr OFTO in North Wales, which is expected to close in Q1 2015.

Executive chairman Steve Marshall said: “For the Investments business, the offshore transmission market is an important part of its strategy to diversify into new markets and achieving financial close on our second project is a great success.

“This project, and this market, is also an example of how Balfour Beatty Services can derive revenues from the Investments business. Today’s announcement supports our wider strategy of developing our delivery capability in the offshore renewables industry.”

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