Ofgem fast-tracks Scotland to England ‘electricity superhighway’ with extra funding
Ofgem is fast-tracking a so-called “electricity superhighway” between Scotland and England with an additional £2bn in funds.
A statement from the regulator today said the subsea energy project, which it claims could connect up to two million homes with clean energy, will be the beneficiary of a faster funding process that could knock two years off its development timeline.
The proposed Eastern Green Link 1 (EGL1) high-voltage subsea cable would transport 2GW of wind-generated electricity between East Lothian and County Durham.
The project is being developed by the National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) and SP Transmission, part of SP Energy Networks.
The vast majority of the 196km cable will be under the North Sea, with the remaining 20km of cables underground linking the cable to substations and converter stations in Torness, East Lothian and Hawthorn Pit, County Durham.
It is the first of 26 ‘critical energy projects’ worth an estimated £20bn in total under Ofgem’s new fast-track system, known as the Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment (ASTI) framework.
Rebecca Barnett, Ofgem director of major projects, said: “To meet future energy demand and Government net zero targets we need to accelerate the pace at which we build the high voltage energy network, which transport homegrown electricity to where it’s needed.
“We’ve streamlined the approval process without neglecting our due diligence, carried out rigorous checks to ensure consumers are shielded from unnecessary costs and made cost adjustments where we don’t see maximum efficiency and consumer benefit.”
The announcement comes as the UK’s energy mix and net zero targets begin to feature more and more in the national discussion.
This week, the National Grid unveiled a £60bn plan to re-wire the UK’s offshore wind connections and add more projects across Scotland’s coastline.
A week prior, energy security Claire Coutinho faux-pas’d her way through a speech at thinktank Chatham House, that set out complex changes to the way UK electricity is distributed and priced.