Ofgem has awarded the proposed Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2) electricity ‘superhighway’ a provisional funding package of £3.4 billion.
The proposed 2GW high-voltage electricity ‘superhighway’ cable link will connect Peterhead in Aberdeenshire and Drax in North Yorkshire via 500km of underground cabling. Most of the cable (around 436km) will be under the North Sea, with the remaining 70km buried underground onshore.
Two converter stations, one at each end of the cable, are also planned to help feed the electricity transported by the cable into the grid and from there onto consumers. In early March 2024, Prysmian, Hitaxchi Energy and BAM signed contracts to supply these subsea cables and the converter stations for the EGL2 project.
The project is being jointly developed by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks Transmission (SSENT) and National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET), with construction planned to start in 2024, with the new connection due to be operational by 2029.
ASTI framework to bolster UK offshore wind capacity
Designed to help harness the potential of Britain’s offshore wind power, EGL2 is the second project so far to proceed under Ofgem’s new fast-track Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment (ASTI) framework, legislation that is designed to speed up the delivery of strategic energy projects.
As reported by Current± yesterday (26 March), the Eastern Green Link 1 (EGL1) – another proposed major subsea energy link between Scotland and England – was the first project to benefit from the new ASTI streamlined approval process, and received a provisional budget of £2 billion.
EGL2 was identified as one of 26 projects deemed “critical” to meeting the government’s 50GW offshore wind capacity target by 2030.
Under the ASTI framework, the project is financed by the developers, with costs later recouped through bills. To ensure consumer costs are minimised, Ofgem has scrutinised the costs proposed by the developers under the ASTI process, with the energy regulator having identified £67 million that could be cut from indirect costs without impacting project delivery or quality.
Rebecca Barnett, Ofgem director of major projects, said: “To ensure we meet future energy demand and achieve government net zero targets, we must speed up the expansion of the high voltage electricity network which connects consumers to homegrown energy.”
“EGL2 is the second project to reach this stage under our new ASTI process, which has been designed to boost Britain’s energy security by unlocking investment and speeding up the delivery of major power projects.”
She added: “However, just because we’ve streamlined the approval process doesn’t mean we’re handing developers blank cheques. The ASTI framework helps ensure consumers are protected from unnecessary costs, and we make budget adjustments where we don’t see maximum efficiency and benefit for consumers.”