Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”), jointly with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, has advised Walney Extension Wind Farm Limited (“Walney Extension”) on its £447m sale of transmission system assets relating to the 659 MW Walney Extension offshore wind farm to Diamond Transmission Partners Walney Extension (“DTP Walney Extension”). The assets sold include the onshore substation, export cables and offshore substations.
DTP Walney Extension is a partnership between Diamond Transmission Corporation Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation), HICL Infrastructure PLC, and Chubu Electric Power Company Netherlands B.V. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc.).
The divestment took place in accordance with the offshore transmission owner (“OFTO”) regime, with DTP Walney Extension selected by Ofgem as preferred bidder for Walney Extension’s offshore transmission license following a competitive tender.
Located off the coast of Cumbria, northern England, Walney Extension is operated from Ørsted’s West Coast Hub in Barrow. It comprises 40 MHI Vestas 8 MW turbines and 47 Siemens Gamesa 7 MW turbine generating clean electricity for nearly 600,000 homes. Walney Extension is a shared-ownership project between Ørsted and the project’s partners PFA (25%) and PKA (25%).
The multidisciplinary WFW London team that advised Walney Extension included Partner Nick Walker and Senior Associate Rachael Davidson advising on planning and regulatory issues. Associates Tim Williams and Aimee Myhre, and Trainee Kathryn Prior, advised on the projects and construction law matters. The tax aspects of the deal were handled by Partner Richard Stephens, while corporate support was provided by Partner Chris Kilburn and Senior Associate Sarah Williamson. The team was led by Partner Martin Lucas.
Martin commented: “I am delighted we were able to assist Walney Extension on this significant divestment. Following on from our work advising the sellers on the major Race Bank and Galloper deals, this transaction underlines our standing as legal experts in the offshore wind sector and OFTO regimes in particular”.
