The Triton Knoll wind farm was commissioned in 2022 and is located off the coast of Lincolnshire, UK. It consists of 90 turbines, with a capacity to power 935,000 homes with clean electricity each year.

Our team of advisory and engineering specialists assisted Equitix Limited and TEPCO Power Grid Incorporated (ETEPCO) to successfully acquire the Triton Knoll offshore wind farm transmission assets through the Offshore Transmission Owner (OFTO) regime. The OFTO tender process ensures that generators are partnered with transmission owners that are the most efficient and competitive actors in the market.

Our multidisciplinary team was able to support ETEPCO across the structural and power systems engineering and planning, advisory, geotechnical and consenting elements of the Triton Knoll wind farm transmission asset project. The assets included one onshore and two offshore substations, as well as the export cables. As a result of our work, these assets were acquired with minimal risk.

Assessing the technology and infrastructure

It was important to ETEPCO that the design, construction and commissioning of the assets were comprehensively assessed, and any risks appropriately mitigated to guarantee the success of the transaction. The revenue stream for the OFTO is based on the availability of the assets for power export from the offshore wind farm, so the operation and maintenance requirements were key considerations. Also, due to the timing constraints imposed by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), we focused on completing the technical and advisory assessment in alignment with the broader acquisition process timeline.

Sitevisit to an offshore substation
As part of the technical due diligence, our team also carried out site visits to the offshore and onshore substations.

Securing the deal

In this multi-year engagement, our involvement included reviewing technical and commercial risks, completing an availability and revenue assessment, forecasting capital and operational expenditures, and supporting the negotiation of the final commercial position. As part of the technical due diligence, our team also carried out site visits to the offshore and onshore substations. We worked with ETEPCO throughout the bidding and preferred bidder stages and will continue to support them post-acquisition as the lender’s technical advisor.

Projects such as these are highly complex and require insight and knowledge across a range of disciplines to ensure a comprehensive and robust evaluation of the assets. We brought years of experience to the project as, since 2009, we have been involved in over 20 of the 24 total offshore wind transmission infrastructure bids and transactions globally. We continue to work with major actors across the wind energy sector on infrastructure transactions and acquisitions that are driving progress toward net zero energy.

We were pleased to partner with Arup again as technical adviser on our acquisition of the circa £572 million Triton Knoll Offshore Electricity Transmission (OFTO) project, adding to our expansive portfolio in the renewable power sector and supporting the UK’s transition towards a net zero future. Arup were a great support in helping us navigate the technical challenges of this complex acquisition with our consortium with partners TEPCO.

Jemma Sherman

Jemma Sherman