Construction work has been launched a major UK electricity infrastructure project – s 2GW subsea electricity link - with a symbolic simultaneous ground-breaking ceremony held on September 26 in Scotland and England at either end of the £4.3-billion ($5.7 billion) EGL2 project.

In a significant milestone in the step towards decarbonising the energy system, representatives from National Grid and SSEN Transmission took the first ceremonial spadefuls of earth, marking the start of main construction, at events held at either end of the subsea link in Peterhead in Scotland and Wren Hall in Drax, near Selby in North Yorkshire.

After extending 436 km under the sea from Peterhead, EGL2’s subsea cable will come ashore on the East Yorkshire coast at Fraisthorpe Sands and then run underground for 68k m to a new high-voltage current (HVDC) converter station at Drax.

Once complete, it will unlock the rich renewable energy capacity of Scotland and significantly increase the UK’s capacity to deliver clean energy for around two million homes.

At peak periods of construction, the project is expected to support hundreds of local jobs in Yorkshire, through supply chain and construction activity. 

Representatives from National Grid were joined in Yorkshire by colleagues from specialist HVDC cable supplier, Prysmian, and Hitachi Energy and BAM, responsible for the supply of converter stations at either end of the project, underlining the collaborative spirit and support for the much-anticipated scheme.

EGL2 is the first of four currently proposed 2GW projects between Scotland and England to begin construction and in total these projects, delivered in partnership by National Grid, could provide enough renewable electricity to power eight million homes.

Wren Hall Converter Station in Drax has seen the start of main construction activities this month, including site establishment and vegetation clearance. Surveys are expected to continue along the underground cable route in the coming months.

The project is expected to be operational in 2029.-TradeArabia News Service