Construction begins on 2 GW subsea HVDC cable in the UK

The groundbreaking of the Eastern Green Link 1 project is a major milestone for transmission network upgrades in the United Kingdom and a key pillar of wider strategy to support further renewables deployment.

Construction has begun on a 2 GW, 525 kV high voltage direct-current (HVDC) cable between Scotland and England, a key piece of transmission architecture that is expected to support renewables deployment in the United Kingdom.

When complete, Eastern Green Link 1 (EGL1) will use almost 400 km of HVDC cable across a 190 km route between Torness, near Edinburgh, and Hawthorn Pit in County Durham, northeast England. Italian cabling company Prysmian Group won the contract to deliver the cable for EGL1 in late 2023.

The GBP 2.5 billion ($3.15 billion) project is being developed as a joint venture between transmission network owners SP Energy Networks and National Grid Electricity Transmission. Construction begins with onshore work, with the offshore installation expected to start in summer 2025.

Metlen Energy & Metals, in partnership with energy equipment manufacturer GE Vernova’s Grid Solutions, has been selected to design and supply HVDC converter stations at each end of the cable.

In a statement, Metlen executive director of M Power Projects, Kostas Chorinos, described the groundbreaking as an important milestone for EGL1 and said the company wants to see local communities benefit from the project. “We’ll be investing millions in the local supply chain,” said Chorinos. “Our workforce will be volunteering thousands of hours within local communities and we’ll be creating dozens of jobs for local people.”

Breaking ground on EGL1 follows construction getting underway on Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2) in August 2024. The EGL2 project comprises a 505 km, 525 kV, 2 GW HVDC cable between Peterhead in northeast Scotland and Yorkshire, England. It is hoped the buildout of new transmission links between the renewables rich north and demand heavy regions in the south of Great Britain will support renewables deployment.

Other British HVDC projects in development include EGL3 and EGL4, which would also link Scotland and England via a North Sea route. A combined planning application for both projects is expected in summer 2026, according to the UK government’s national infrastructure project planning site.