Construction has started on the Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2) project, a subsea electricity transmission cable connecting Peterhead in Scotland to Drax in North Yorkshire, England. Once complete, the 525 kV, 2 GW high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable will be the UK’s longest subsea electricity transmission link.

The project, developed as a joint venture between National Grid Electricity Transmission and SSEN Transmission, is seen as an enabler of decarbonising the UK’s energy system by carrying Scotland’s abundant renewable energy resources for wider distribution. The 436 km cable will run under the North Sea, coming ashore on the East Yorkshire coast before continuing underground for 68 km to a new HVDC converter station at Drax.

At a total expected nominal investment of around £4.3bn, it is the single largest investment in electricity transmission infrastructure in the UK to date.

The project’s timeline is reported to have been accelerated by two years due to Ofgem’s new fast-track process.  

EGL2 is expected to be fully operational by 2029. It is the first of the currently proposed 2 GW projects between Scotland and England to begin construction. The other projects are EGL1 and EGL4, National Grid joint ventures in partnership with SP Energy Networks, and EGL3, being undertaken with EGL2 partner SSEN Transmission.

Wren Hall converter station, Drax power station in background – after travelling 436 km under the sea from Peterhead, EGL2’s subsea cable will come ashore on the East Yorkshire coast at Fraisthorpe Sands and then run underground for 68 km to a new high voltage current (HVDC) converter station at Drax

Photo: National Grid

Energy networks lay to rest 10 GW of ‘zombie’ connection projects

Meanwhile, some 10 GW of stalled or speculative schemes (so-called ‘zombie’ projects) have been removed from the grid connection queue, reports the Energy Network Association (ENA).  

The projects have been removed as a result of the efforts of the ENA’s Strategic Connections Group, which comprises electricity network operators, the regulator and system operator.  

Lawrence Slade, Chief Executive of the ENA, comments: ‘Removing these stalled schemes is a necessary step to make the UK’s grid connection process faster, but it’s just one part of the solution and work must continue at pace. We’re taking measures to more closely coordinate the connections process between distribution and transmission networks and we’re working with the government and regulator to help ensure the planning system is ready to enable the connections needed for the UK’s clean energy future.’

He adds: ‘We also shouldn’t forget that these projects are a sign that the “connection queue” itself requires further reform, as there was 252 GW more generation and supply capacity in the queue last year than is required by 2050 in even the most ambitious plans for the UK’s grid.’

Indeed, it is clear that much remains to be done, with RenewableUK Cymru recently calling on the Welsh government to take ‘urgent action to expedite decision-making’, following news that three onshore wind farms with a combined capacity of over 200 MW have been delayed ‘yet again’.

One project, EDF Renewables UK’s Garn Fach wind farm in Powys, is understood to have been awaiting a decision for more than two years, even though ‘developments of national significance’ (DNS) in Wales are supposed to be determined within 10 months.

According to RenewableUK Cymru, data shows fewer than 20% of submissions under the DNS regime are approved on time. It says: ‘This slow process is having real consequences – without timely planning decisions, Welsh projects are at a disadvantage in securing vital funding through the UK government’s clean energy auctions (contracts for difference), which provide financial certainty for developers. In the latest auction, Welsh projects secured less than 2% of the UK total.’