The ball is in the court: an undersea cable will send renewable energy from Scotland to the British power grid. That’s what The Guardian wrote earlier this morning. The cost? £3.4 billion (€4 billion). The Eastern Green Link will transmit renewable electricity from Scottish wind farms to two million homes in England. Construction on the project, the largest investment project in the British electricity grid, will start later this year and will be operational by 2029.
Why this is important:
The Eastern Green Link promises to be a milestone in the UK’s energy transition. It is an ambitious project that supports the UK’s climate goals and has the potential to transform the way energy is generated and consumed.
Connection between renewable resources and consumption
The cable will deliver renewable energy, mainly from the vast wind farms in northeast Scotland, directly to the north of England. The initiative responds to the growing demand for renewable energy and the need to stabilize energy supplies when the wind does not blow or when demand is high.
Although the project was initially budgeted at £3.4 billion, recent estimates indicate an increase to £4.3 billion due to inflationary pressures. Funding for this project will be passed on to consumers through energy bills. This has raised some concerns about the impact on long-term household energy costs.
Impact on the landscape
Although most of the project will take place under the seabed, there is also a 70-kilometer-long onshore section that will connect the sea to the converter stations. These cables will be buried to minimize the impact on the landscape, which is a major concern for many rural communities[1].
Technical specifications of the cable
The Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2) will consist of a 525kV, 2GW high-voltage direct current (HVDC) submarine transmission cable approximately 436 kilometers long. With new converter stations at both ends, this HVDC cable provides an efficient and reliable way to transmit large amounts of power over long distances undersea.
This development is just one part of a larger strategy to prepare the British power grid for a future without emissions. With a goal of a climate-neutral electricity system by 2030, the project also aims to reduce dependence on and price exposure to volatile global wholesale gas markets.
Expected commissioning and further plans
The Eastern Green Link project’s operational start is planned for 2029 as part of SSEN Transmission’s Pathway to 2030 program. This involves investing more than £10 billion to upgrade the network around key areas. National Grid’s ‘The Great Grid Upgrade’ includes the largest grid overhaul in generations, with multiple billions invested in new electricity transmission projects across England and Wales.
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