Ofgem has opened a consultation into the final needs case for 4GW of transmission projects linking Scotland to England.
Stakeholders will be able to submit their views on the two 2GW subsea links, dubbed the Eastern High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission projects, between now and 4 May.
Final needs cases for the projects, which have an estimated total cost of £3.4bn, were filed by their respective developers in December 2021.
The first 2GW link is a partnership between National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) and SP Energy Networks and will run from Torness, Scotland to the Hawthorn Pit Substation in Durham County, England with approximately 176km of offshore cable.
The second 2GW link, a partnership between NGET and SSEN Transmission, will originate from Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and terminate at Drax in North Yorkshire, England with 440km of cable running undersea.
These projects are part of National Grid’s work upgrading the electricity transmission system to deliver the UK government’s target of 40GW of offshore wind generation by 2030.
In addition to the Eastern Links, NGET is developing 14 projects across its network to facilitate the target representing a £10bn investment.
This includes two further Scotland to England high voltage links (also in partnership with the Scottish transmission network owners) and proposals in the Humber, Lincolnshire, East Midlands, North of England, Yorkshire, North Kent, as well as four in East Anglia (one of which is a proposed offshore link between Suffolk and Kent).
NGET interim president Chris Bennett said: “The Scotland to England Green Links form part of £10bn investment in 16 major projects to help deliver the government’s offshore wind target of 40GW by 2030, a critical step in helping achieve greater energy independence and net zero.
“Ofgem’s recognition of their benefit and the likely delivery model is encouraging.
“Final approval will offer opportunities for job creation, economic growth and consumer savings – at the same time as delivering the essential infrastructure required for meet the UK’s climate targets.
“We now look forward to working constructively with Ofgem and other stakeholders as the project continues to move forward.”
Commenting on the consultation Renewable UK director of future energy systems Barnaby Wharton said: “The decision to take the next step forward on the Eastern Link projects is great news for consumers and the environment.
“Onshore is the cheapest form of electricity generation we have, so getting on with these projects means that we will be able to deliver even more power produced by wind farms in Scotland to consumers in England.
“Having more transmission capacity means that we won’t have to curtail wind generation when the networks can’t cope, saving consumers even more.”