Green light for subsea energy cables between UK and Europe

The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) has approved three energy cables linking Britain to Germany’s, Ireland’s, and Northern Ireland’s power grids and lines connecting Britain’s grid with Dutch and Belgian offshore wind farms. The projects are due to be completed by 2032.

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

18 GW by 2032

Britain has interconnectors that can carry about 11.7 gigawatts of electricity, and the new interconnectors will increase that to 12 GW in 2030 and 18 GW in 2032. One gigawatt hour of electricity is enough to power about one million homes for one hour.

Akshay Kaul, Ofgem director general for infrastructure: “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.”

‘Surplus clean power’

“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,” he added.