National Grid and SSEN Transmission have begun construction of the Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2), a 2GW subsea electricity link between Scotland and Yorkshire.
The £4.3 billion joint venture will see a 525kV, 2GW high voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea transmission cable from Peterhead in Scotland to Drax in England and has been pegged as the longest HVDC cable in the UK. Construction is expected to complete in 2029.
EGL2 will see 436km cabling under the sea, coming ashore on the East Yorkshire coast and running for a further 68km underground to a new HVDC converter station at Drax. It is the first of four currently proposed projects between Scotland and England, delivered in partnership by National Grid and SSEN.
Structural grid upgrade is a crucial element of integrating renewable energy generation into the UK’s electricity mix. In August, the UK’s energy regulator Ofgem approved a £3.4 billion funding package for the project, the largest single investment in British electricity transmission infrastructure to date.
The funding came as part of Ofgem’s new fast-track approval and funding system, the Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment programme (ASTI). The ASTI is designed to speed up grid connection times for new offshore clean energy projects by a full two years. The grid connections queue is considered to be the greatest barrier to renewable energy rollout in the UK.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, Akshay Kaul, Ofgem director general for infrastructure group, said: “Today is a historic occasion. Not only is construction starting on EGL2, Britain’s biggest ever electricity transmission project, but we’re also standing here two years earlier than we might have been thanks to Ofgem’s fast track new process which cuts red tape to get consumers across the country connected to renewable energy more quickly.”
Kaul also promised that the regulator is “poised to step in if needed to ensure efficiency and consumer benefit”, adding that Ofgem’s involvement with EGL2 “does not end here”.
Rising HVDC technology demand
Responding to the increasing demand for HVDC transmission cables, equipment manufacturer GE Vernova will expand its existing facilities in Stafford. The company says the expansion will help power renewable energy projects throughout Europe, Asia and North America, while also supporting the energy transition in the UK.
Of three Electrification Systems’ Grid Solutions business sites in Stafford, two will be expanded. The Redhill HVDC facility will double its valve manufacturing capacity with the installation of an additional Voltage-Sourced Converter (VSC) valve assembly line.
Its transformer facility at Lichfield Road will be upgraded to boost capacity—the site recently produced transformers that have been installed in the North Sea to support the 1.4GW Sofia Offshore Wind Farm.
