The Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2) will include the longest high-voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea cable in the country. The 525kV 2GW subsea connection will run between Peterhead in north-east Scotland and Drax power station on the east coast of England.
Ofgem’s final approval of the costs associated with delivery of the 500km+ HVDC subsea electricity superhighway is a key stage in the regulatory process.
Construction is expected to start later this year, with the connection due to be operational in 2029. It will provide enough electricity from offshore wind to power two million homes.
Scotland’s Aberdeenshire Council recently granted final planning approval for a new HVDC converter station to be built near Peterhead, with construction at the site near Boddam also set to start later this year.
Delivered as a joint venture by National Grid and SSEN Transmission, EGL2 will cost around £4.3 billion ($5.6 billion) when adjusted for inflation. This is up from the £3.4 billion estimated by Ofgem based on 2018/19 prices, making it the largest-ever investment in electricity transmission infrastructure in Great Britain.
Contracts to deliver the project have already been awarded. Prysmian Group will supply around 1,000km of cable, while Hitachi Energy and BAM will supply converter stations at either end of the subsea cable.
EGL2 is part of SSEN Transmission’s Pathway to 2030 programme, a £20 billion investment to upgrade the electricity network in the north of Scotland to unlock the country’s offshore wind energy resources in support of national net zero and energy security targets.
Approval for EGL2 was fast-tracked under the UK’s accelerated strategic transmission investment (ASTI) process.
ASTI aims to accelerate approval times for strategic projects by up to two years and was first used for the EGL1 offshore wind subsea cable project.
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