List of high-voltage transmission links in the United Kingdom

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List of high-voltage transmission links in the United Kingdom including some under construction or proposed.

Contents

The rise of UK interconnection

During 2021 interconnectors provided 28TWh of electricity to the UK, which equates to 10% of total demand, whilst in 2009 this figure was 7TWh. [1]

Interconnectors allow the trade of electricity between countries with excess renewable generation and those with high demand. Interconnectors play a key part in balancing variable renewable generation, for example the North Sea Link allows the UK to export excess power to Norway during windy periods to conserve Norwegian hydro stocks and import Norwegian hydro power on less windy days. [2]

During 2022 the UK exported record amounts of power to mainland Europe, helping to alleviate the effects of the war in Ukraine on European security of supply. [3]

Per the below list the United Kingdom has as of 2023 an international interconnector capacity of 9,700 MW. [4]

NameDevelopersSubstation UKSubstation 2Length (km)Voltage (kV)Power (MW)OperationalRemarks
HVDC Cross-Channel National Grid Interconnectors and RTE Sellindge Flag of France.svg Bonningues-lès-Calais 73±2702,0001986submarine HVDC
BritNed National Grid Interconnectors and TenneT Isle of Grain Flag of the Netherlands.svg Maasvlakte 2604501,0002011submarine HVDC
East–West Interconnector EirGrid Interconnector Designated Activity Company Shotton, Flintshire Flag of Ireland.svg Rush, Dublin 261±2005002012submarine HVDC
Nemo Link National Grid Interconnectors and Elia Richborough Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Zeebrugge 1404001,0002019submarine HVDC
IFA-2 National Grid Interconnectors and RTE Lee-on-the-Solent Flag of France.svg Tourbe, France 204±3201,0002021submarine HVDC
North Sea Link National Grid Interconnectors and Statnett Blyth, Northumberland Flag of Norway.svg Kvilldal 720±5151,4002021submarine HVDC
ElecLink Getlink Folkestone Flag of France.svg Peuplingues 51±3201,0002022 Channel Tunnel HVDC
Viking Link National Grid Interconnectors and Energinet Bicker Fen Flag of Denmark.svg Revsing, Jutland 7655251,4002023submarine HVDC
Greenlink Element Power & Partners Group Pembroke Flag of Ireland.svg Great Island 1903205002024 (planned)submarine HVDC
NeuConnect Meridiam, Allianz and Kansai Electric Power Isle of Grain Flag of Germany.svg Wilhelmshaven 7255251,4002028 (planned)submarine HVDC
Gridlink Interconnector GridLink Interconnector Ltd Kingsnorth Flag of France.svg Warande 1405251,4002027 (proposed)submarine HVDC
Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project Xlinks Ltd Alverdiscott Flag of Morocco.svg Tan-Tan 3,800±(TBD)3,6002029 (proposed)submarine, dual HVDC
FAB Link RTE and FAB Link Limited Exeter Airport Flag of France.svg L'Étang-Bertrand (lieu-dit Menuel)220±3201,2502030/31 (proposed)submarine HVDC
AQUIND AQUIND Limited Lovedean Flag of France.svg Barnabos240±3202,0002026 (proposed)submarine HVDC
LionLink [5] National Grid Ventures and TenneTTBD. Most likely:

Friston, Suffolk or Walberswick [6]

Flag of the Netherlands.svg TBDTBDTBD1,8002030+

(proposed) [7]

submarine HVDC

with ability to connect to offshore wind farms

Nautilus [8] National Grid Ventures and EliaTBD. Most likely:

Friston, Suffolk or Isle of Grain [8]

Flag of Belgium (civil).svg TBDTBDTBD1,4002028

(proposed) [9]

submarine HVDC

with ability to connect to offshore wind farms

Per the below list the United Kingdom has as of 2023 a national interconnector capacity of 3,950 MW. [4]

NameDevelopersSubstation 1Substation 2Length (km)Voltage (kV)Power (MW)OperationalRemarks
Moyle Interconnector Mutual Energy Auchencrosh, South Ayrshire Ballycronan More 63.52505002001submarine HVDC
Caithness - Moray Link Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks Caithness Moray 1603201,2002019submarine HVDC
Western HVDC Link National Grid plc and ScottishPower Transmission Hunterston Flintshire Bridge 4226002,2502019submarine HVDC
Shetland HVDC Connection Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission Upper Kergord Valley, Shetland Caithness HVDC switching station, near Wick2603206002024 (planned)submarine HVDC

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electricity sector in Norway</span>

The electricity sector in Norway relies predominantly on hydroelectricity. A significant share of the total electrical production is consumed by national industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HVDC Cross-Channel</span> Electrical interconnector between the UK and France

The HVDC Cross-Channel is the 73-kilometre-long (45 mi) high-voltage direct current (HVDC) interconnector that has operated since 1986 under the English Channel between the continental European grid at Bonningues-lès-Calais and the British electricity grid at Sellindge. The cable is also known as IFA, and should not be confused with the new IFA-2, another interconnect with France that is three times as long but only half as powerful.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Grid (Great Britain)</span> High-voltage electric power transmission network in Great Britain

The National Grid is the high-voltage electric power transmission network serving Great Britain, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Submarine power cable</span> Transoceanic electric power line placed on the seabed

A submarine power cable is a transmission cable for carrying electric power below the surface of the water. These are called "submarine" because they usually carry electric power beneath salt water but it is also possible to use submarine power cables beneath fresh water. Examples of the latter exist that connect the mainland with large islands in the St. Lawrence River.

The East–West Interconnector is a 500 MW high-voltage direct current submarine and subsoil power cable which connects the Irish and British electricity markets. The project was developed by the Irish national grid operator EirGrid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydro-Québec's electricity transmission system</span> International power transmission system centred in Quebec, Canada

Hydro-Québec's electricity transmission system is an international electric power transmission system centred in Quebec, Canada. The system pioneered the use of very high voltage 735-kilovolt (kV) alternating current (AC) power lines that link the population centres of Montreal and Quebec City to distant hydroelectric power stations like the Daniel-Johnson Dam and the James Bay Project in northwestern Quebec and the Churchill Falls Generating Station in Labrador.

NordLink is a subsea 1,400 megawatt (MW) HVDC power cable between Norway and Germany, opened in May 2021. The over 500 kilometres (310 mi) long cable operates at a voltage of 500 kV DC.

TenneT is a transmission system operator in the Netherlands and in a large part of Germany.

BritNed is a 1,000 MW high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) submarine power cable between the Isle of Grain in Kent, the United Kingdom; and Maasvlakte in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Sea Link</span> Subsea electricity transmission line

The North Sea Link is a 1,400 MW high-voltage direct current submarine power cable between Norway and the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electricity sector in Denmark</span> Overview of the electricity sector in Denmark

Denmark's western electrical grid is part of the Synchronous grid of Continental Europe whereas the eastern part is connected to the Synchronous grid of Northern Europe via Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malta–Sicily interconnector</span> Submarine power cable

The Malta–Sicily interconnector is the submarine power cable which connects the power grid of Malta with the Italian Transmission Network managed by Terna, which is part of the European grid. It was constructed in 2014-2015, and supplies roughly 14 of Malta's electrical power.

COBRAcable is a ±320 kV, 700 MW HVDC submarine power cable pair between Eemshaven, the Netherlands and Endrup near Esbjerg, Denmark. The cable is jointly owned by Energinet.dk and TenneT. Its purpose is to improve the European transmission grid and thus increase the amount of variable wind power in the system while improving supply reliability. Its 700 MW capacity corresponds to an annual transmission capacity of 6.1 TWh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenya Electricity Transmission Company</span> Kenyan electricity transmission company

Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited, commonly referred to as KETRACO, is a wholly-owned parastatal of the Government of Kenya which serves as the primary Transmission System Operator in the Republic of Kenya.

Viking Link is a 1,400 MW HVDC submarine power cable between the United Kingdom and Denmark completed in 2023.

The high-voltage electricity substations in the United Kingdom are listed in the following tables. The substations provide entry points to, and exit points from, the National Grid (GB) or Northern Ireland Electricity Network. Entry points include power stations, major wind farms and inter-connectors from other countries and regions. Exit points are to lower voltage transmission and distribution substations which are also shown in the tables.

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.

References

  1. "Drax Electric Insights". Drax Electric Insights. Drax Group . Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  2. "northsealink". northsealink.com. North Sea Link. 1 January 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-01-01. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  3. Gosden, Emily (2022-12-29). "Electricity exports to Europe soar as wind and solar power increase". The Times . Archived from the original on 2023-01-01. Retrieved 2023-01-01.(subscription required)
  4. 1 2 "Interconnectors". ofgem.gov.uk . Archived from the original on 2021-07-01.
  5. "LionLink | National Grid Group". www.nationalgrid.com. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  6. "LionLink consultation materials | National Grid Group". www.nationalgrid.com. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  7. www.viking-link.com https://www.viking-link.com/news/national-grid-announces-commercial-operations-of-viking-link-the-world-s-longest-land-and-subsea-interconnector/ . Retrieved 2024-02-04.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. 1 2 "About Nautilus | National Grid Group". www.nationalgrid.com. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  9. "Nautilus". www.elia.be. Retrieved 2024-02-04.