In May, UK seabed landlord, the Crown Estate, put the rights on the market after development body, the National Renewable Energy Centre (Narec) – now part of ORE Catapult – had taken it through consent stages. It received planning consent in November 2013.
EDF has acquired rights to all three areas of the demonstration site, as well as the related land rights and meteorological data from ORE Catapult. Blyth consists of three separate arrays, each with a maximum capacity of 33.3MW and up to five turbines.
The new project owner said it would use Blyth to "grow its expertise and experience in designing and choosing foundations" and develop offshore installation processes.
As part of the sale, the Crown Estate wanted the first test site operational by 2017. EDF ER will make a final investment decision on developing the site next year.
