Construction has started on a subsea electricity superhighway that will supply two million homes with green power.
Eastern Green Link 1 – a joint venture between SP Energy Networks and National Grid Electricity Transmission – will transport green electricity along over 190km of predominantly undersea cable linking the south-east of Scotland with the north-east of England.
The £2.5bn project was given the green light by Ofgem last year and onshore works are now underway with offshore construction due to start in the summer.
At the cable’s two landfall points, Torness in East Lothian and Hawthorn Pit in County Durham, two converter stations will be built to change the electricity from alternating to direct current – the most efficient way for it to travel long distances.
Specialist boats are then used to lay the cable across the seabed and bury it throughout the route before connecting it to the grid.
SP Energy Networks CEO Nicola Connelly and National Grid Electricity Transmission President of Strategic Infrastructure Carl Trowell were joined by Minister for Housing and MSP for East Lothian Paul McLennan to mark construction getting underway.
They confirmed an £8m fund has been approved by Ofgem to support communities and deliver social, environmental and economic benefits where the cable meets land in East Lothian and County Durham.
Set to open later this year, the fund recognises the important contribution communities in will play in hosting vital energy infrastructure and strengthening energy security.
