The National Grid is the high-voltage electric power transmission network supporting the UK's electricity market, connecting power stations and major substations, and ensuring that electricity generated anywhere on the grid can be used to satisfy demand elsewhere. The network serves the majority of Great Britain and some of the surrounding islands. It does not cover Northern Ireland, which is part of the Irish single electricity market.
The United Kingdom is the best location for wind power in Europe and one of the best in the world. The combination of long coastline, shallow water and strong winds make offshore wind unusually effective.
Wind power is the fastest-growing renewable energy technology in Scotland, with 16,648 megawatts (MW) of installed wind power capacity by Q2 2024. This included 9,756 MW from onshore wind in Scotland and 2,971 MW of offshore wind generators. The largest onshore wind farm in the UK is Whitelee, just south of Glasgow, with 215 turbines and a total capacity of 539 MW.
Gwynt y Môr is a 576-megawatt (MW) offshore wind farm located off the coast of north Wales and is the fifth largest operating offshore windfarm in the world. The farm has 160 wind turbines of 150 metres (490 ft) tip height above mean sea level.
The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) Ltd. is a UKAS accredited test and research centre focused on wave and tidal power development, based in the Orkney Islands off the mainland of Scotland. The centre provides developers with the opportunity to test full-scale grid-connected prototype devices in wave and tidal conditions, at pre-consented test sites. EMEC also has sites for testing smaller-scale prototypes in more sheltered conditions.
Spittal is a small hamlet in Caithness, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland. Spittal lies 9 miles (14 km) south of Thurso, and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Mybster. The main A9 road runs past Spittal.
The Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm now known as Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd (BOWL) project, is an offshore wind farm close to the Beatrice oil field in the Moray Firth, part of the North Sea 13 km off the north east coast of Scotland.
Teesside Wind Farm, or alternatively referred to as Redcar Wind Farm, is a 27 turbine 62 MW capacity offshore wind farm constructed just to the east of the mouth of the River Tees and 1.5 km north of Redcar off the North Yorkshire coast, in the North Sea, England.
Viking Wind Farm is a large on-shore wind farm in the Shetland Islands which was developed by Viking Energy, a partnership between Shetland Islands Council and SSE plc. It has a generation capacity of 443 MW.
Shetland HVDC Connection is a high-voltage direct current submarine power cable connecting Shetland to the British mainland.
The Western HVDC Link is a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) undersea electrical link in the United Kingdom, between Hunterston in Western Scotland and Flintshire Bridge in North Wales, routed to the west of the Isle of Man. It has a transmission capacity of 2,250 MW and became fully operational in 2019.
Dogger Bank Wind Farm is a group of offshore wind farms under construction 130 to 200 kilometres off the east coast of Yorkshire, England in the North Sea. It is considered to be the world's largest offshore windfarm. It was developed by the Forewind consortium, with three phases envisioned - first phase, second phase and third phase. In 2015, the third phase was abandoned, while the first and second phases were granted consent. It was initially expected that the Dogger Bank development will consist of four offshore wind farms, each with a capacity of up to 1.2 GW, creating a combined capacity of 4.8 GW. As of 2024, a total of 8.1 GW generating capacity is expected to be installed on Dogger Bank.
Hornsea Wind Farm is a Round 3 wind farm which began construction in 2018. Sited in the North Sea 120 km off the east coast of England, the eventual wind farm group is planned to have a total capacity of up to 6 gigawatt (GW).
The Celtic Interconnector is a 700 MW high-voltage direct current (HVDC) submarine power cable under construction between the southern coast of Ireland and the north-west coast of France. It will be the first such interconnector between the two countries.
IFA-2 is a subsea electrical interconnector, running beneath the English Channel between France and the United Kingdom. The 204-kilometre (127 mi) high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable operates at +/-320kV with the capacity to transmit 1,000 MW of power. IFA-2 is the second interconnector built between France and Great Britain, after IFA link.
The Caithness–Moray Link is a 160 km (100-mile) HVDC submarine power cable beneath the Moray Firth in Scotland, linking Spittal in Caithness and Blackhillock in Moray. Constructed by Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks, it is capable of transmitting up to 1,200 MW of power. It was officially completed in January 2019, under budget at a cost of £970 million, and was reported as the largest single investment in the northern Scottish electricity network since the 1950s.
Gridlink Interconnector is a proposed submarine power cable between England and France. The 1,400 MW high-voltage direct current connector would link Kingsnorth National Grid substation in north Kent, England, with Réseau de Transport d'Électricité Warande substation in Bourbourg (Nord) near Dunkirk in northern France.
The Western Isles HVDC connection is a proposed 1.8GW HVDC submarine power cable to connect the Isle of Lewis to the Scottish mainland.
