New Civil Engineer Civil engineering and construction news and jobs from New Civil Engineer
A proposed £2.1bn subsea electricity “superhighway” between England and Scotland has now had planning consent by all necessary authorities approved.
Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2) is a proposal to connect Peterhead in Scotland with Drax’s power station in North Yorkshire with 463km of subsea cables. Planning consent for all onshore and offshore elements has now been approved by three different planning authorities and by both the Marine Management Organisation in England and Marine Scotland, in Scotland.
The project is being promoted by a joint venture between National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Transmission and once complete will run from a new converter station and landfall point at Sandford Bay, Peterhead, under the North Sea, to a landfall point at Fraisthorpe on the East Yorkshire coast. Once onshore in England, it will run underground to a new converter station next to the Drax Power Station in Selby.
In order to achieve the required planning permission for the project, consent for a converter station and new pylon compound, in Peterhead, consent for subsea cable in English and Scottish Waters and consent for a new converter station and section of underground cable at Drax’s site were all necessary.
Planning Permission was granted by Aberdeenshire Council in May last year for the high voltage direct current (HVDC) converter station in Peterhead and in February it was granted for a pylon compound joining the high-voltage underground cable to the overhead line.
Full planning permission was also granted by East Riding of Yorkshire Council for the majority of project’s onshore underground cable in May.
Marine licences were granted by both Marine Scotland and Marine Management Organisation in May and July respectively for the 436km subsea cable.
Construction of the EGL2 is expected to begin in 2024 with a targeted operational date of 2029.
EGL2 has been devised to help transport wind energy from Scotland to power 2M homes in the UK. NGET believes it “will unlock the rich renewable energy capacity of Scotland and significantly increase the UK’s capacity to deliver clean energy”.
It will utilise 525kV, 2GW HVDC subsea transmission cable from to connect the two points. The project is part of National Grid’s plans to upgrade the UK’s electricity transmission system and work towards the government’s target of 40GW of offshore wind generation by 2030.
How EGL2 will work
EGL2 deputy project director Sarah Sale said: “We are delighted that our plans for the onshore and offshore elements of our project have been approved by all local planning authorities and marine licencing organisations.
“What was particularly pleasing to hear, was the support for the project and its purpose from a number of those planning authorities.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has worked alongside us to reach this key milestone, particularly those who have come forward and shared their views. We will continue to work with the local community and keep them updated as the project develops, and moves into construction, and would like to thank them in advance for hosting such an important project.
“This renewable electricity superhighway is vital in supporting the UK’s transition to net zero and decarbonisation and we’re thrilled to be making such a significant contribution with the largest electricity transmission reinforcement project in the UK.”
Like what you've read? To receive New Civil Engineer's daily and weekly newsletters click here.
This is a blatant attempt to steal Scotland’s renewable resources, just as was done with our oil. Another reason why Scotland must regain its independence as soon as possible. No doubt they’ll be coming for our vast water resources too.