Energy regulator Ofgem has awarded a £2bn funding package for the 196km Eastern Greenlink 1 (EGL1) interconnector project.

The UK government has pledged to decarbonise all electricity by 2030. This requires a drastic revamp of the grid, with thousands of miles of planned high-voltage cables.

There are many projects currently underway to connect both onshore and offshore wind to meet government targets via a mix of subsea, overhead and underground cables.

One of these electricity ‘superhighway’ projects is the Eastern Green Links, which consists of four links between Scotland and England. These links will transport the vast amount of renewable energy generated in Scotland to other areas of the UK.

In August 2024, Ofgem approved £3.4bn of funding for delivery of Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2) between Peterhead in north-east Scotland and Drax on the east coast of England. Due to be operational in 2029, it will include the country’s longest high voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea cable, spanning...