Eastern Green Link 1 marine power line

We continue to drive the expansion of smart grids with innovative initiatives that facilitate energy transport and distribution. One of our main projects is known as Eastern Green Link 1, which will consist of a kind of great electric motorway that will connect one of the most important renewable generation centres in Europe (the Scottish territory of the North Sea) with England and will supply two million homes. Specifically, the link will run from Torness in East Lothian (Scotland) to Hawthorn Pit in County Durham (England).

The project will be built by a consortium formed by ScottishPower Energy Networks and National Grid Electricity TransmissionEnlace externo, se abre en ventana nueva. , and will play a vital role in achieving the country's target of zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. After receiving provisional approval to build the power line from Ofgem, the UK regulator, the design phase is scheduled to begin in 2024 and construction work onshore in the spring of 2025, with offshore work starting in the summer of that same year..

Eastern Green Link 1 will have some of the longest HVDC submarine cables in the world - almost 400 km required for this 190 km route between England and Scotland. It will also have a voltage of 525 kV and a combined capacity of 2 GW. The project reached a major milestone in its development in 2023 when Prysmian Group was awarded a £750 million contract to supply the first of these cables.

In addition, GE Vernova's Grid Solutions division and MYTILINEOS Energy & Metals have been selected to supply two HVDC converter stations, one at each end of the cable, for £1 billion.

Boosting energy transition and jobs in the UK

The UK is transforming the electricity grid in the biggest overhaul in generations to contribute to a cleaner, greener and more secure energy system. This involves multi-million pound investments in new electricity transmission projects across the country.

In this context, Eastern Green Link 1 represents a major economic triumph for the UK, being considered one of the largest electricity transmission investment projects in the country's recent history at £2.5 billion. But it is also a boost for the UK supply chain, as several UK companies will supply major works and components. This is the case of GE Vernova's Grid Solutions division (based in Staffordshire), which will supply HVDC valves and control systems, as well as HVDC transformers. 

Eastern Green Link 1 is a key part of the new grid infrastructure to accelerate the UK's energy transition. According to Ofgem, this new infrastructure is needed to improve the capacity of the interconnection network between Scotland and England and enable renewable energy produced in Scotland to reach the most energy intensive regions of the country. It will also play a critical role in supporting the nation's future security of supply, reducing dependency and price exposure to volatile global wholesale gas markets. 

On this path to a greener future, National Grid estimates the creation of 400,000 job opportunities in the country to achieve net zero energy by 2050, including around 150,000 jobs planned in Scotland and the north of England.

The east coast of Scotland is already home to almost 1 GW of operational offshore wind farms with a further 4.4 GW in the pipeline. Furthermore, some 10 additional GW are predicted following the outcome of the next round of tenders for offshore wind energy in Scotland, ScotWind.

This multi-billion-pound investment is expected to secure hundreds of green jobs in both the construction and operation of the project.

Iberdrola, a world leader in smart grids

Smart grids are essential for our renewable energy to reach consumers safely and efficiently in any country in the world. At Iberdrola, we operate one of the most important distribution systems in the world and we continue to work on its modernisation, digitalisation and automation. 

For this reason, in our Strategic Plan, we are focusing on smart grids in addition to renewable energies. To sum up, the company plans to invest €21.5bn in grids in the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Spain, which represents 60% of net investment. 

Green light for the electricity superhighway

Ofgem, the UK regulatory authority, has given the green light for the Eastern Green Link 1 project in November 2024. This news comes at a time when SP Energy Networks' Branxton substation has been given the go-ahead. 

This substation will connect both the Eastern Green Link 1 project and a proposed offshore wind farm in the area. Work at Branxton, East Lothian, will begin in 2025. 

Eastern Green Link 1 is part of a multi-million pound investment in the UK's transmission infrastructure, providing routes for new green electricity from offshore wind farms to travel across the UK to connect to homes and businesses. Without this investment, there will be no way to transport the significant amount of clean electricity that the UK hopes to build in the North Sea to electricity users. 

Contracts worth around £1.8 B have been awarded to carry out the project, including £750 M with Prysmian Group to supply the UK's first 525 kV HVDC power transmission cable. 
The contracts are expected to give a significant economic boost to the UK during construction, with major works and components to be supplied by UK-based industries.

SP Energy Networks and National Grid Electricity Transmission already own and operate the Western Link, the world's largest capacity and one of the longest submarine cables, connecting Hunterston in Scotland to Connah's Quay in Wales. Operational since 2017, the link created more than 450 jobs during planning and development and has transmitted more than 30,000 GWh of electricity during its first five years of operation, enough to power every home in Wales during that same period.