National Grid consulting communities on Scotland-England wind links

National Grid is inviting communities in the UK to comment on proposals for two electricity links to transport wind energy from Scotland to power up to four million homes in England.

by Gail Rajgor 2 May 2024

EGL 3 would run from Peterhead, Aberdeenshire under the North Sea via marine cables to a landfall location on the Lincolnshire coastline (pic credit: lucentius/iStock via Getty Images)

The primarily subsea high voltage direct current (HVDC) Eastern Green Link 3 (EGL 3) and Eastern Green Link 4 (EGL 4) electricity transmission projects are being developed by National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) with SSEN Transmission (EGL 3) and SP Energy Networks (EGL 4).

NGET says the two links are needed as the existing transmission network does not have enough capacity to securely and reliably transport the increasing amount of energy generated in Scotland, particularly from offshore wind.

EGL 3 would run from Peterhead, Aberdeenshire under the North Sea via marine cables to a landfall location on the Lincolnshire coastline, either at Theddlethorpe or Anderby Creek. EGL 4 would run from Westfield, Fife, also via marine cables to the same landfall location as EGL 3. 

After making landfall, the cables will run underground for approximately 100 kilometres to two proposed converter stations in the Walpole, King’s Lynn and West Norfolk area. Underground cables would then connect the converter stations to the transmission network via a new proposed substation, also within the Walpole area. 

EGL 3 and EGL 4 are separate to the Grimsby to Walpole project – a proposal for 90 miles of new onshore electricity transmission line to reinforce the UK’s electricity grid and connect onshore generation projects and subsea cable links, interconnectors, as well as two offshore wind farms.

The eight-week consultation runs to 17 June.