The Eastern Green Link 1 (EGL1) UK’s $3 billion subsea power superhighway has begun construction , carrying green electricity to the homes of two million people on over 190 kilometers of ocean spanning the predominantly underwater cable between the south-east of Scotland and the north-east of England.
National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) and their SP Energy Networks business partner SP Transmission are developing the 2 GW EGL1 HVDC multi-directional cable (which can be run in either direction) between Torness area in East Lothian, Scotland and Hawthorn Pit County Durham, England.
The £2.5bn (+$3.1bn) project was green-lighted by Ofgem last year and are now onshore, with offshore work to commence in the summer.
The Eastern Green Link 1 will make an important contribution to meeting the needs of the modern electricity network that will be required for the future. But at the same time, SP Energy Networks’ CEO Nicola Connelly says the project will deliver economic growth, jobs, and a supply chain boost all across the UK, but importantly for the communities hosting this vital infrastructure.
‘We will partner with National Grid Electricity Transmission, to alongside our local communities, support projects that are important to them and deliver long term social value and direct benefit for years to come.’
The first 525 kV HVDC XLPE submarine cable system in the UK for the 190 km England to Scotland route will be delivered by Prysmian.
At the end of 2023, the Italian company won the contract for EGL1 worth €850 million; the consortium of GE Vernova’s Grid Solutions business and METLEN Energy and Metals won a contract of about €1.2 billion for delivering the HVDC converter stations of the project.