The Prysmian Group has been awarded a £750 million contract to deliver the UK’s first 525kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electricity cable for Eastern Green Link 1 (EGL1).
Dubbed a “subsea electric highway,” EGL1 will be a 525kV, 2GW HVDC subsea transmission cable stretching from Torness in East Lothian, Scotland to Hawthorn Pit in County Durham, England.
This forms part of £1.8 billion worth of contracts awarded by the joint venture between National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) and SP Transmission, which forms part of SP Energy Networks.
This includes a £1 billion contract awarded to Staffordshire-based GE Vernova’s Grid Solutions business and Mytilineos Energy & Metals to supply and construct two HVDC convertor stations to be placed at either end of the link.
“EGL1 is a transformative project for the UK, enhancing security of supply and helping to connect and transport green power for all customers,” said Peter Roper, EGL1’s project director.
“These contract announcements are big wins for the supply chain and another important milestone as we build the new network infrastructure to help the UK meet its net zero and energy security ambitions.”
The design phase of EGL1 will commence in 2024, with construction set to begin in 2025.
EGL1 was also rumoured to be one of several projects to benefit from the £12 billion UK investment plan for 2024-28, announced by Iberdrola, the parent company of ScottishPower, at the UK Global Investment Summit in London this year.
NGET is also working on another subsea transmission project, EGL2. A project led in partnership with SSEN Transmission, EGL2 will consist of another 525kV, 2GW HVDC cable, running between Peterhead, Scotland and North Yorkshire, England.
