| Project Detail |
Iberdrola, through its subsidiary ScottishPower, will participate in the construction of Eastern Link, a multi-million-dollar project consisting of a large underwater power line linking Scotland to the north east of England.
The Eastern Link project will have some of the longest underwater HVDC cables in the world, with a combined capacity of 4 GW, and will play a vital role in achieving the UKs goal of zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The cables will significantly increase the United Kingdoms capacity to deliver clean, green and renewable energy which will travel up to 440 km — from the east of Scotland down to two points in the north east of England — to supply around four million homes.
The project will be built by SSE, ScottishPower and National GridExternal link, opens in new window. — three of the UKs leading energy companies — and construction work is scheduled to begin in 2024. British regulator Ofgem has granted the consortium formed by Iberdrola provisional approval to build the 2-gigawatt (GW) power line linking Scotland to the north-east of England..
It is one of two submarine cables that make up the project. Together, the two cables will form an undersea superhighway capable of carrying enough electricity to meet the demand of around four million UK homes.
According to Ofgem, this new transmission infrastructure is needed to improve the capacity of the interconnection network between Scotland and England and enable renewable energy produced in Scotland to reach the countrys most energy-intensive regions. At an estimated cost of £3.4 billion for the two links, Eastern Link would be the largest electricity transmission investment project in Britains recent history.
The east coast of Scotland is already home to almost 1 GW of operational offshore wind farms with a further 4.4 GW in the pipeline. Furthermore, some 10 additional GW are predicted following the outcome of the next round of tenders for offshore wind energy in Scotland, ScotWind.
This multi-billion-pound investment is expected to secure hundreds of green jobs in both the construction and operation of the project.
Iberdrola, a world leader in smart grids
Smart grids are essential for our renewable energy to reach consumers safely and efficiently in any country in the world. At Iberdrola, we operate one of the most important distribution systems in the world and we continue to work on its modernisation, digitalisation and automation.
That is why, in our record investment plan of €47 billion over the period 2023-2025, we are focusing on smart grids in addition to renewables. In particular, €27 billion will be allocated to smart grids to reach an asset base of €56 billion by 2025. |
