Italy’s Prysmian has signed a contract worth around €1.9bn ($2.4bn) for the delivery of a major HVDC cable system for the Eastern Green Link 2 network development project that will connect Scotland and England.
Eastern Green Link 2 is a planned HVDC submarine and underground cable link of around 500 km route length between Peterhead in Scotland and Drax in the North of England. With a power transmission capacity of 2 GW the connection is expected to be one of the first cable systems in the UK to utilise 525 kV technology with extruded XLPE insulation. The new connection is due to be operational in 2029.
The link forms part of a series of planned system reinforcements required to boost the capability of the existing UK transmission network and facilitate the growth in flows of renewable generation in the North to demand centres to the South, supporting the target of enabling 50 GW offshore wind generation by 2030.
SSEN Transmission and National Grid Electricity, which form the Eastern Green Link 2 joint venture, initially chose the Milan-based cabling giant as the exclusive preferred bidder for the project in May last year. A subsequent commitment was made in June 2023 assuring Prysmian’s continued availability for the project. The same JV awarded Prysmian a $927m contract for the Eastern Green Link 1 project.
“Once completed, the electrical superhighway cable link will unlock the rich renewable energy capacity of Scotland and significantly increase the UK’s capacity to deliver clean energy for around two million homes in the UK,” said Hakan Ozmen, EVP of transmission at Prysmian.
