Ofgem has fast-tracked some 26 grid connection projects which will allow for faster grid connections for renewable projects.
The government has awarded a £3.4 billion funding package for a proposed new subsea and underground 500km cable between Scotland and Yorkshire.
Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2) is the first of 26 projects to complete a fast-track process to secure funding through Ofgem’s new Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment (ASTI) framework.
The cable will run between Peterhead in Aberdeenshire and Drax in North Yorkshire, and 436km of it will be under the North Sea, while the remaining 70km will be buried underground onshore.
Two converter stations, one at each end of the cable, will help feed the electricity transported by the cable into the grid and from there onto consumers.
Ofgem CEO Jonathan Brearly said that the ASTI framework will speed up the EGL2 by two years.
“However, streamlining the process does not mean blank cheques for developers as we are able to step in and make financial adjustments to maximise efficiency and consumer benefit,” Brearly said.
Work on the cable project is set to begin later this year and will be completed by 2029.
Meanwhile, Ofgem has announced a proposed £294.8m for another ASTI project, the Yorkshire Green Energy Enablement (GREEN), which would upgrade the local electricity network to transport energy generated by Scottish and North Sea windfarms to consumers.
The plan involved new substations, underground cables, and 7km of overhead lines.
The upgrade is scheduled to be operational by 2027.
Ofgem has also approved early construction funding for the North London Reinforcement Project, which will replace existing 275kV overhead lines with 400kV overhead lines from Pelham substation in Hertfordshire to Waltham Cross in Epping Forest and then on to Tottenham substation in Haringey.