Transmission assets at E.On’s Humber Gateway offshore wind farm are to be sold to BBEC, a consortium comprising Balfour Beatty Investments and Equitix. Ofgem has  granted BBEC a licence to operate the £162.9 million link  for the next 20 years. The transaction was backed by an £82 million loan from the European Investment Bank.

Balfour Beatty Investments and Equitix were selected by Ofgem in September 2015 as the preferred bidder to own and operate the offshore transmission link. The divestment is necessary due to regulatory requirements relating to the ownership of transmission and generation asset.

E.On said the annual revenue required to cover the transmission network charges that E.ON’s Humber Gateway will pay for the next 20 years, will be proportionally the lowest amongst all previous Offshore Transmission Owner (OFTO) transactions.

The Humber Gateway wind farm, which remains 100% owned by E.On, has 73 turbines located 8km off the Holderness coast and went into full operation in May 2015. It has a capacity of 219MW.

The transmission assets for it were constructed by E.ON Climate & Renewables UK Humber Wind Ltd.