Ofgem has called for bids to win offshore transmission licenses connecting nine offshore wind farms to the Great Britain grid.

Ofgem has developed a tender programme for transmission licenses for transitional projects (where the transmission assets are either already built, or are expected to be under construction or to have secured financing before the tender process begins) and enduring projects (that do not meet the criteria for transitional projects and will require offshore transmission licensees to design, build, finance and maintain the relevant transmission assets), Ofgem said.

This first tender is for transitional projects totaling some 2,065 MW of capacity.

The projects are:

-Barrow, East Cumbria (DONG Energy/Centrica, 90 MW);

-Robin Rigg, Dumfries and Galloway (E.ON, 173 MW);

-Gunfleet Sands 1 and 2, Essex (DONG Energy, 165 MW); -Sheringham Shoal, Norfolk (SCIRA, 317 MW);

-Ormonde, East Cumbria (Eclipse Energy Ltd, owned by Vattenfall, 150 MW);

-Greater Gabbard, Suffolk (Airtricity (SSE)/RWE, 504 MW);

-Walney 1, East Cumbria (DONG Energy, 183 MW);

-Walney 2, East Cumbria (DONG Energy, 183 MW);

-Thanet, Kent (Vattenfall, 300 MW).

A transmission license is expected to be granted for each project, Ofgem said.

Indicative asset transfer values for the projects are:

-Barrow £ 36.5m ($60m);

-Robin Rigg £58.7 million;

-Gunfleet Sands 1 and 2 £46.4m

-Sheringham Shoal £186.8m;

-Ormonde £87m;

-Greater Gabbard £343.7m;

-Walney 1, £99.4m;

-Walney 2, £104.4m;

-Thanet, £189m.