Moray East OFTO
OperationalOffshore GridGB900 MW220 kV277.15 km2021
Basic information
9 fieldsAlso Known As
Moray East OFTO · TC Moray East OFTO Limited · TC Moray East OFTO · Moray East Offshore Transmission Owner
Status
operational
Capacity
900 MW
Project Company
Type
offshore grid
Transmission Model
Developer Build & Transfer
Expected Life
23 years
Website
Supply Chain (9)
Project Timeline (26)
Dec 2025Stake TransactionStale
Amber Infrastructure’s case study for Moray East OFTO states that by December 2025 a 49% equity stake will be divested, following INPP’s initial 100% position at financial close in February 2024. This planned transaction will syndicate part of INPP’s holding in Moray East OFTO, consistent with the case study’s indication of a 51% equity ownership position for INPP in the asset.
31 Mar 2024Other Permit SubmittedStale
Following the late February 2023 export cable fault on the Moray East transmission assets, Moray Offshore Windfarm (East) Limited requested a time-limited exemption from the requirement to hold a transmission licence until 31 March 2024 to allow additional time to repair the faulty export cable, remove the damaged section for testing, and conduct a Root Cause Analysis before completing the transfer of the transmission assets to the OFTO.
Feb 2024Stake Transaction
In February 2024, International Public Partnerships (INPP), advised by Amber Infrastructure, reached financial close on its investment in Moray East OFTO, securing long-term ownership and operation of the transmission link connecting the 950 MW Moray East offshore wind farm to the UK national grid; the case study notes an equity ownership position and identifies Moray East as INPP’s eleventh OFTO investment.
15 Feb 2024Revenue Secured
On 15 February 2024, Ofgem published its cost assessment for the Moray East offshore transmission assets and confirmed that the Authority had granted an offshore transmission licence to TC Moray East OFTO Limited, incorporating the assessed transfer value into the project’s tender revenue stream and thereby securing the long-term regulated OFTO revenue for operating the transmission link to the 950 MW Moray East wind farm, which has an initial revenue term of 23 years.
25 May 2023Public Consultation
Authority: Department for Energy Security & Net Zero / Secretary of State under the Electricity Act 1989 · Licence: Public consultation on a time-limited exemption from the requirement for a transmission licence for Moray East (Electricity (Individual Exemption from the Requirement for a Transmission Licence) (Moray East) (Scotland) Order 2023)
The UK Department for Energy Security & Net Zero opened a public consultation on 25 May 2023 on a proposed time-limited exemption from the requirement to hold a transmission licence for the Moray East offshore wind farm, whose transmission assets comprise three offshore substations, three export cables and an onshore substation at New Deer in Aberdeenshire. The consultation sought views on making the Electricity (Individual Exemption from the Requirement for a Transmission Licence) (Moray East) (Scotland) Order 2023, which would allow Moray Offshore Windfarm (East) Limited to continue transmitting power over the Moray East transmission assets beyond the normal commissioning period until 31 March 2024, while a cable fault was repaired and transfer to the Moray East OFTO completed.
Feb 2023Major Outage
In late February 2023, the Moray East offshore wind farm’s transmission system, comprising three offshore substations, three export cables and an onshore substation at New Deer, experienced a technical export cable fault, causing a significant outage on the export transmission assets that are to be transferred to an Offshore Transmission Owner (OFTO) under the UK OFTO regime.
Apr 2022Commercial Operations Full Power
The Moray East offshore wind farm transmission system reached full contracted output of 900 MW in April 2022. The offshore transmission assets, including the NKT-supplied export cables and offshore/onshore substations, achieved full operational capacity, completing the grid connection for all 100 Vestas turbines in the Moray Firth.
20 Oct 2021Financial Other
In a letter dated 20 October 2021, Ofgem issued its Indicative Transfer Value for the Moray East offshore wind farm transmission assets, calculating total economic and efficient development and construction costs of £647.8 million including £64.2 million of interest during construction, after detailed forensic review and downward adjustments to the developer’s submitted cost categories.
Jul 2021System TestingStale
Commissioning and system testing of the Moray East OFTO transmission assets was expected to take place in phases between April 2021 and July 2021, preparing the offshore and onshore transmission system for operational service and subsequent OFTO transfer.
Jul 2021Construction OtherStale
As of November 2020, all consents for the Moray East transmission assets were in place and the construction completion notice for these assets was expected to be issued in July 2021, indicating the planned completion of construction ahead of transfer to the OFTO.