IN Brief:
- Ofgem published a 12 November determination to grant an offshore transmission licence relating to Dogger Bank A.
- DBA OFTO Project Limited is identified as the successful bidder for the transmission assets serving the 1.2GW wind farm.
- Ofgem’s October assessment established a £896.5m final transfer value, but the determination alone does not confirm completed asset transfer.
Ofgem has determined that an offshore electricity transmission licence should be granted for Dogger Bank A, following the selection of DBA OFTO Project Limited as successful bidder. The regulator published a statutory notice under regulation 28(2) on 12 November. It is a further step in the transfer of the wind farm’s transmission assets to a licensed offshore transmission owner, although the notice does not establish that the transaction has completed.
Dogger Bank A is the first 1.2GW phase of the larger Dogger Bank offshore wind development in the North Sea. The project was developed through a venture owned by SSE Renewables, Equinor, and Vårgrønn, with interests of 40%, 40%, and 20% respectively. Electricity from the turbines must reach the wider transmission system through dedicated offshore and onshore assets, and those assets are subject to a distinct ownership and licensing process from the generation facilities.
The UK’s offshore transmission owner model separates the wind farm developer’s generation business from the long-term ownership and operation of its transmission connection. Under the established generator-build approach, the developer constructs and commissions transmission infrastructure before a competitive tender selects a licensed owner. The winning offshore transmission owner is expected to take responsibility for operating and maintaining the assets in return for the regulated revenue arrangements attached to the licence. Those arrangements are different from the developer’s sale of wind-generated electricity.
The 12 November notice advances the licensing process beyond bidder selection. Ofgem’s publications register identifies DBA OFTO Project Limited as the successful bidder and records the authority’s determination to grant the licence. A consultation on proposed changes to standard licence conditions under Section 8A(3) of the Electricity Act 1989 closed on 11 November. The register does not reproduce the full final licence conditions or confirm the effective date of the transfer.
In its cost assessment published on 14 October, Ofgem established a proposed Final Transfer Value of £896.5m for the Dogger Bank A transmission assets. The regulator said it did not expect further changes to assessed costs but would not finalise that value until it had determined to grant the licence. The figure relates to the transmission package in the competitive tender and must not be confused with the cost of developing the complete offshore wind farm.
The £896.5m assessment identifies the value attached to the transmission assets; it does not state the incoming owner’s annual regulated revenue or give the commercial completion date. Those details are governed by separate licensing and transfer arrangements. Ofgem’s latest determination removes one regulatory condition from the process, but the material available does not confirm whether the assets have formally changed hands.
The electrical system itself introduces particular operating requirements. Dogger Bank A has been described in government documentation as the UK’s first application of a high-voltage direct-current transmission system at an offshore wind asset, with an unmanned offshore HVDC platform. Such a connection brings power collected from the turbines into the export system before transmission to shore. Its safe operation depends on coordinated control, equipment protection, communications, and maintenance responsibilities across offshore and onshore facilities.
The distinction between generation and transmission ownership does not remove their technical interdependence. Availability of the export system affects whether electricity can leave the wind farm, while protection and control arrangements must operate consistently across the connection. Maintenance access offshore is also constrained by environmental conditions and the specialised equipment installed on the converter platform. The detailed allocation of operational interfaces under the future licence will be important to the handover, but the November registry entry provides no complete operating manual or asset boundary schedule.
The earlier commissioning programme encountered technical difficulties, including turbine blade failures and delays described in government documentation concerning transmission testing at sufficient power to meet grid code requirements. Those issues form part of the project’s operating history, but no evidence links them causally to the 12 November licensing decision. Equally, the determination cannot be used to infer that every operational and grid compliance test has now been passed.
Dogger Bank B is proceeding through a different stage of the competitive offshore transmission process. Ofgem selected a preferred bidder for its assets in early November, while Dogger Bank A has now reached a determination to grant a licence. Each wind farm phase has a separate asset package, bidder outcome, and regulatory timetable despite forming part of the same wider offshore development.
The effective licence date and formal completion of the asset transfer remain the next matters to establish from the regulator’s detailed decision documents and subsequent transaction notices. Those records should also clarify the final licence conditions and allocation of operating responsibilities across offshore and onshore infrastructure. For now, the confirmed development is Ofgem’s 12 November determination for Dogger Bank A, following its earlier £896.5m transfer valuation.
