How undersea super cables connecting Scotland and Europe will now power millions of homes

Energy regulator Ofgem approved three cables linking Britain to Germany’s, Ireland’s and Northern Ireland’s power grids and also approved lines to connect Britain’s grid with Dutch and Belgian offshore wind farms.

The projects, all of which are due to be completed by 2032, are designed to cash in on a massive planned ramp-up in UK wind power generation over the coming years, with plans to make Britain a net exporter of clean energy.

The power lines, called interconnectors, enable Britain to be more flexible with energy supply either by exporting surplus power abroad or buying it from other countries to meet its own demand.

Britain has interconnectors that can carry about 11.7 gigawatts of electricity and the new interconnectors will increase that to 12GW in 2030 and 18GW in 2032.

One gigawatt hour of electricity is enough to power about one million homes for one hour.

The interconnectors had initially been refused by Ofgem because they will add between £2 and £5 a year to energy bills from 2030 to 2035.

The 700MW Scottish phase of the project will connect Hunterston in Ayrshire to Kilroot in Northern Ireland.

The news came as Sir Keir Starmer announced a new goal for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 as attended the United Nations climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan.

In a speech to world leaders at Cop29, the Prime Minister announced a target to cut UK emissions by 81% by 2035, compared with the country’s 1990 levels.

Akshay Kaul, Ofgem director general for infrastructure, said the regulator had only approved projects “which deliver for consumers in terms of value, viability and energy security”.

Kaul said: “As we shift to a clean power system more reliant on intermittent wind and solar energy these new connections will help harness the vast potential of the North Sea and play a key role in making our energy supply cheaper and less reliant on volatile foreign gas markets and associated price spikes.”

He added: “With Britain expected to become a net energy exporter in the 2030s, these connections will equip us with world leading technology to export more of our surplus clean power overseas.

“They will also provide greater access to energy imports, which together with domestic low carbon energy sources such as nuclear and biomass, will provide vital back-up energy sources when renewable generation is more limited here.”

One of the interconnectors will run between East Anglia and Germany, a second will run between north Wales and Ireland and another will run between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The other two lines are called offshore hybrid assets (OHAs) and will connect the UK to Dutch and Belgian grids with offshore wind farms belonging to the European countries in between.

This experimental technology can feed energy generated by offshore wind farms directly into domestic and European grids.

UK Energy Minister Michael Shanks said: “Interconnectors are vital international links that allow us to transport power to and from our allies, helping to build a clean, secure energy supply.

“These five projects will expand Britain’s interconnector capacity by 6GW, creating links to export our own clean electricity at times of high generation, and import low-cost power from our neighbours when needed.

“Our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower requires us to make a once in a generation upgrade of Britain’s energy infrastructure – which will include rolling out more interconnector projects in the future, bringing skilled jobs and investment to communities across the country.”

Following the announcement, Transmission Investment (TI) welcomed Ofgem’s decision to grant the LirIC electricity interconnector, between Scotland and Northern Ireland, a cap and floor regime in principle in Great Britain.

Keith Morrison, Project Director for TI LirIC, said: “Transmission Investment are pleased with Ofgem’s announcement today and its recognition of the benefits that LirIC will bring to consumers in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.”

Morrison continued: “Transmission Investment now looks forward to continuing to work with all stakeholders to progress this strategically important interconnector project at pace.

“In the coming months we anticipate more important milestones including the completion of further regulatory licencing requirements.”

The project will be operational early in the next decade, connecting Great Britain and the Single Electricity Market of the Island of Ireland. The interconnector will boost security of supply, have a positive impact on carbon emission reductions, and bring down bills for consumers.

Morrison added that LirIC will be a key enabling technology to support the roadmap to Net Zero.

Referring to the green lighting of the OHAs, National Grid Ventures president Ben Wilson said: “Ofgem’s approval of LionLink and Nautilus’ initial project assessment is welcome news, and an important step towards having the regulatory certainty we need to build these projects.

“It is important that the regulatory arrangements are now finalised and deliver an investible framework. Consumer demand for electricity is set to double in the next 25 years, and if built these interconnectors would provide the invaluable flexibility we need in the system for both now and in 2050.”

Wilson added: “Between them, LionLink and Nautilus would have the capacity to power 4.2 million UK homes, supplying clean, secure, renewable energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

On Wednesday (November 13), The Scotsman is hosting the Green Skills conference at the Sandman Hotel in Aberdeen, Europe’s energy capital. Delegates will hear from industry experts on Scotland’s role and future in the energy transition.