Ofgem has today launched a tender process for the connection links for the first phase of what is described as Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm, Seagreen.

Bidders could be awarded rights to own and operate prebuilt electricity links – including cables and substations connecting the project to the grid.

The new scheme is the ninth tender round conducted by the regulator under its offshore transmission owner (OFTO) regime, which has so far awarded owners and operators for 23 offshore wind farm connections.

Akshay Kaul, Ofgem‘s Director of Networks, said: “Connecting offshore wind farms such as Seagreen helps harness the power of North Sea wind to keep the lights on and deliver sustainable and affordable energy.

“As the government seeks to realise its net zero ambitions a key part of Ofgem’s job is to ensure the costs of transitioning to green energy are kept as low as possible for consumers. Our OFTO tender regime does exactly that delivering on both sustainability and affordability for Britain’s consumers.”

Last month, Seagreen, reached a milestone in installing its first wind turbine.

The 1.1GW project is predicted to generate around 5,000GWh of renewable energy every year.

That is enough to power more than 1.6 million homes and save around two million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.