A second pre‑lay grapnel run (PLGR) is scheduled to start on 24 April 2026 to clear the offshore export cable route for Inch Cape’s second 220 kV export cable (EC2) within the export cable corridor before installation.
Ofgem shortlisted five bidders (DTP, Equitix, GSC, JL and TCP) in Tender Round 13 to compete to own and operate the Inch Cape OFTO assets (export transmission links).
In March 2026, the first three of Inch Cape’s 18 jacket foundations were delivered by fabricator COOEC-Fluor Heavy Industries (CFHI) to the Port of Leith, marking the initial batch of foundation structures arriving in the UK for the project’s offshore installation campaign.
Upgrade to access detailed cable specifications, supply chain data, projected timeline, financial analysis, and more.
Inch Cape OFTO refers to the offshore transmission assets that will export power from the Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm to the GB transmission system via a landfall at Cockenzie, East Lothian. Regulatory material published by Ofgem for Tender Round 13 (TR13) identifies Inch Cape as a qualifying pr...
Owners
Inch Cape Offshore Transmission, Inch Cape OFTO TR13, Inch Cape Offshore Transmission Owner, Inch Cape offshore transmission assets
On 10 February 2026, CNOOD-Wenchong Heavy Industries (CWHI) announced it had completed manufacturing and delivery of its foundation components for the Inch Cape project, having loaded out and shipped the final batch of 15 transition pieces from its yard to the Port of Leith aboard the COSCO vessel Hua Xing Long, following earlier dispatch of the first 15 transition pieces in November 2025 and prior delivery of the last eight XXL monopiles in December 2025.
In January 2026, the first batch of transition pieces for Inch Cape’s turbine foundations arrived at the Port of Leith, marking a manufacturing and logistics milestone as these components were delivered to the marshalling port ahead of offshore installation.
In 2025, the two super grid transformers that form the core of the new onshore substation at the former Cockenzie Power Station site, together with associated electrical equipment such as shunt reactors, switchgear and cable, were delivered via the Port of Leith and transported to the substation under Siemens Energy’s management.
Installation of Inch Cape's wind turbine foundations commenced in December 2025 when the first XXL monopiles arrived at the Port of Leith in October 2025, fabricated by CWHI (GWSHI) and Dajin Offshore, and the first monopile was installed at the offshore site in December 2025 by Jan de Nul. The 1,080 MW wind farm will use a mix of monopile and jacket foundations across 72 turbine positions. The first transition pieces arrived at Leith in January 2026 and the first jacket foundations arrived in March 2026, with Seaway 7 contracted for jacket installation using the Seaway Alfa Lift vessel.
Hook-up and commissioning activities for the Inch Cape offshore substation platform were well underway by late October 2025, with Siemens Energy teams housed on the Noble Resilient jack-up alongside the OSP. Weekly Notices of Operations describe ongoing OSP commissioning during this period, indicating that offshore system testing/commissioning had commenced by this date, earlier than the original April 2026 projection.
Offshore subsea rock placement operations for Inch Cape began around 27 October 2025, when Jan De Nul's rock installation vessel Simon Stevin arrived on site to commence rock placement at the offshore substation platform and export cable crossing within the export cable corridor.
By 23 October 2025, Inch Cape had successfully installed the first of its two 85‑kilometre, 220 kV three‑phase offshore export cables, laid in three roughly 28‑kilometre sections by Enshore Subsea’s CMOS Installer vessel from the Port of Blyth, with two offshore joints completed using North Sea Giant to link the offshore substation platform to the new onshore substation at Cockenzie.
As part of completing the first Inch Cape offshore export cable installation announced on 23 October 2025, cable pull‑in operations at the Cockenzie landfall were carried out, establishing the physical shore connection between the subsea export cable and the onshore transmission system at the new Cockenzie substation site.
On 1 September 2025, Ofgem published the Enhanced Pre‑Qualification (EPQ) document for Tender Round 13, formally launching the pre‑qualification stage for selecting Offshore Transmission Owners for the Inch Cape, East Anglia THREE and Dogger Bank C transmission assets and setting out the rules and timetable for bidder participation.
On 1 September 2025, Ofgem published the Enhanced Pre-Qualification (EPQ) document for Offshore Transmission Tender Round 13, identifying Inch Cape as one of three Qualifying Projects and setting an assumed initial transfer value of £964 million for its offshore transmission assets, alongside an assumed project size of 1,000 MW. This EPQ provides key financial parameters and assumptions for prospective OFTO bidders ahead of the Inch Cape OFTO licence competition.
The Inch Cape offshore substation topside (a Siemens Energy Offshore Transformer Module) and its 68-metre jacket foundation were installed in August 2025 by Heerema Marine Contractors using the semi-submersible crane vessel Sleipnir. The topside and jacket had been fabricated at Smulders' yard in Wallsend, near Newcastle. The offshore substation platform will collect the output from 72 Vestas V236-15MW wind turbines and transmit power via twin 220 kV three-phase export cables to the onshore substation at Cockenzie, East Lothian. Installation of the platform followed completion of comprehensive pre-construction surveys, UXO disposal and boulder clearance campaigns along the export cable corridor.
Laying and burial of Inch Cape’s first 220 kV offshore export cable (EC1), running approximately 85 kilometres between the offshore substation platform and Cockenzie landfall, is scheduled to start in July 2025 following seabed preparation and PLGR activities.
By July 2025, fabrication of Inch Cape’s Siemens Energy Offshore Transformer Module and its 68‑metre jacket foundation at Smulders’ Newcastle yard had been completed, and both offshore substation components were ready to sail out for installation at the wind farm site.
By summer 2025, Inch Cape Offshore Limited had appointed Siemens Energy as the main substation contractor for the project’s transmission system, with Siemens Energy providing the Siemens Energy Offshore Transformer Module (OTM) offshore substation fabricated with Smulders in Newcastle and managing construction of the new onshore substation at the former Cockenzie Power Station site in partnership with civil subcontractors Careys and NG Bailey.
In 2025, at the Cockenzie landfall adjacent to the under‑construction onshore substation, contractor Charles Brand has been carrying out major civil works for the offshore transmission landfall, including removing and rebuilding a 35‑metre section of seawall, installing ducts for the two export cables, and restoring the foreshore and diverted John Muir Way, with landfall works programmed between April and September 2025.
A pre‑lay grapnel run (PLGR) to clear remaining debris and obstructions from the route of Inch Cape’s first 220 kV offshore export cable (EC1) is scheduled to commence on 28 June 2025 within the offshore export cable corridor as part of OfTI pre‑installation works.
Offshore construction for the Inch Cape project, including works at the offshore wind farm site and along the export cable corridor, commenced on 16 June 2025, as reported in the project’s Weekly Notice of Operations.
The first Inch Cape offshore export cable for the transmission system arrived in the UK at the Port of Blyth in June 2025, marking delivery of the manufactured cable ahead of its installation by Enshore Subsea in three sections during summer and autumn 2025.
By late spring 2025, Inch Cape had completed geophysical surveys along the offshore export cable corridor for the Inch Cape Offshore Transmission Infrastructure, using the survey vessel Geo Ranger to map the seabed, identify thousands of boulders and other obstructions, and clear the route ahead of export cable laying planned from July 2025.
UXO clearance activities associated with the Inch Cape Offshore Transmission Infrastructure were planned to be completed by 30 May 2025 under the OfTI marine licence, providing a cleared and safe route for installation of the two 220 kV offshore export cables to Cockenzie.
Installation of a nearshore cable protection system for the Inch Cape offshore export cables is planned to start on 1 May 2025, providing protection and stabilisation along the landfall approach as part of pre‑installation works in the export cable corridor.
The commencement of Inch Cape’s offshore transmission infrastructure construction is defined as the start of licensable works at the Cockenzie landfall, with nearshore civil and cable‑protection activities expected from April 2025 and, by mid‑2025, contractor Charles Brand already removing and rebuilding a section of seawall and installing ducts to bring the export cables ashore adjacent to the new substation.
Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm reached financial close on 27 January 2025, raising more than GBP 3.5 billion from 22 commercial banks. The equal joint venture owners ESB and Red Rock Renewables confirmed that the 1,080 MW project, located 15 km off the Angus coast in the North Sea, would now progress into its offshore construction phase. The financing includes transmission asset costs for the offshore substation, twin 85 km 220 kV export cables and the onshore substation under construction at Cockenzie. Inch Cape had secured 15-year Contracts for Difference through UK CfD allocation rounds in 2022 and 2024 and holds a 50-year seabed lease from Crown Estate Scotland. MUFG acted as financial advisor with Linklaters as legal advisor.
Inch Cape's export cable supply contract was confirmed at financial close on 27 January 2025. Ningbo Orient Cable was selected to fabricate the two 85 km, 220 kV three-phase AC offshore export cables, with the cables manufactured in China and delivered to the Port of Blyth for installation. Enshore Subsea was contracted as the export cable installation contractor, using the CMOS Installer cable lay vessel. The first export cable arrived in the UK at Blyth in June 2025 and was installed in three approximately 28 km sections during summer/autumn 2025. TKF and N-Sea were appointed for inter-array cable fabrication and installation under an EPCI contract.
Unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance for the Inch Cape Offshore Transmission Infrastructure was scheduled to commence on 1 October 2024 under separate marine licences, targeting the offshore export cable corridor and landfall area where subsequent surveys identified around 50 UXO items, including a 700 kg German WWII mine near Gullane Bay.
Pre‑campaign subtidal seabed preparation within the Inch Cape offshore export cable corridor, including surveys and seabed clearance ahead of installing the two 220 kV export cables between the offshore substation and Cockenzie landfall, is scheduled to start in August 2024 under the Offshore Transmission Infrastructure (OfTI) marine licence.
Fabrication of the Inch Cape offshore substation topside (a Siemens Energy Offshore Transformer Module) began at Smulders’ yard in Newcastle in January 2024 as part of the project’s Offshore Transmission Infrastructure works, with completion targeted for mid‑2025.
Construction of Inch Cape’s new onshore transmission substation at the brownfield site of the former Cockenzie Power Station began in mid‑2023, led by Siemens Energy with civil contractors Careys and NG Bailey, marking the start of the onshore works needed to connect the offshore export cables into the national transmission system.
Consent of the Inch Cape Development, including the offshore transmission infrastructure, was granted in 2019 following assessment of the 2018 Environmental Impact Assessment Report and the revised application.
In 2018, ICOL submitted a revised consent application for the Inch Cape Development, updating the original 2013 application to reflect a materially changed design.
In 2018, an Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) was produced to accompany the revised consent application for the Inch Cape Development, updating the 2013 ES to reflect the new design with fewer, higher-capacity turbines and reduced cabling.
Following the 2013 application and ES, the Inch Cape 2014 Consent for the Development was awarded, providing Section 36 consents and Marine Licences for the offshore wind farm and associated Offshore Transmission Infrastructure.
In 2013, Inch Cape Offshore Limited (ICOL) submitted the original application for consent for the Inch Cape "Development", comprising the offshore wind farm and associated Offshore Transmission Infrastructure (offshore substation and export cables).
In 2013, an Environmental Statement (ES) containing the Environmental Impact Assessment for Inch Cape was produced to accompany the initial consent application, supporting the Inch Cape 2014 Consent for the offshore wind farm and its transmission infrastructure.
Inch Cape Offshore Windfarm Ltd, the developer of the Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm and its associated offshore transmission infrastructure (including the export cables and substations), is owned in an equal 50/50 joint venture by ESB and Red Rock Renewables. This joint venture structure is confirmed in project communications and Ofgem’s Tender Round 13 documentation, which describe Inch Cape as being held in a 50/50 partnership between the two companies.
Showing historic events only. Subscribe for the full timeline including projected milestones.