‘Truly remarkable’: Norway-UK subsea clean power interconnector comes online
With UK energy security making headlines, National Grid has this week announced that its latest 450-mile subsea cable has started commercial operations after six years of development
Clean energy is now being shuttled between the UK and Norway, after the world’s longest subsea electricity interconnector was powered up by National Grid and its Norwegian counterpart Statnett earlier today.
The UK system operator announced this morning that the €1.6bn North Sea Link (NSL) project has started commercial operations, allowing the two nations to share renewable energy.
National Grid touted the news as a “major milestone” in the UK’s journey towards net zero emissions, noting that it would allow the UK to avoid 23 million tonnes of carbon emissions by 2030.
The milestone comes at a time when concerns about UK energy security have been making headlines due to soaring global gas prices and a brief period of lower than usual wind power generation. Advocates of interconnectors argue they can both drive down emissions and enhance energy security by allowing countries to trade power and more easily balance supply and demand on the grid.
The 450-mile cable will initially be able to transport 700MW of capacity between Blyth, Northumberland and Kvilldal, near Stavanger, before ramping up to its full capability of 1,400MW in three months time, the companies behind the project said.
Recently appointed Energy and Clean Growth and Climate Change Minister Greg Hands said the cable was evidence of the “strong energy bond” between the UK and Norway that went back for several decades.
“The North Sea Link is strengthening that bond and enabling both nations to benefit from the flexibility and energy security that interconnectors provide,” he said. “As we prepare to host the UN COP26 summit, this pioneering partnership shows first-hand how crucial international cooperation will be in helping us to deliver on our net zero ambitions and provide clean renewable energy to millions of UK homes.”
The cable – Britain’s fifth electricity interconnector with another country – has taken six years to build, National Grid said, calculating that more than four million working hours have been spent on the project, including 5,880 working days at sea.
The new interconnector will deliver an important new source of capacity to the UK’s grid as the country at a time when energy proces have spiked, in large part to high global gas prices.
It will enable the UK to export wind power to Norway when wind generation is high and domestic electricity demand low, helping to conserve the water in Norway’s reservoirs that powers its hydroelectric plants, National Grid said. Similarly, the UK will be able to import hydroelectric power from Noway when electricity demand is high and domestic generation is low, it explained.
National Grid Ventures President Cordi O’Hara branded the cable as a “truly remarkable feat of engineering”, noting that the power cable traversed mountains, fjords, and the North Sea.
“As we look forward to COP26, North Sea Link is also a great example of two countries working together to maximise their renewable energy resources for mutual benefit,” she said. “We are delighted to have been able to work together with our Norwegian partners Statnett to deliver a world record asset that will make a positive impact on the lives of citizens on both sides of the North Sea.”
Echoing O’Hara’s comments, CEO of Statnett Hilde Tonne said: “The sharing of renewable energy between countries and regions is a prerequisite for delivering a net zero future for everyone. As North Sea Link goes into trial operations, I am proud of the engineering feat produced by our joint team. North Sea Link brings the power systems on both sides of the North Sea closer to the future.”
National Grid currently operates five interconnectors to Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and now Norway, and expects 90 per cent of its imported electricity will be from zero carbon sources by 2030, saving 100 million tonnes of carbon.
The news comes in the sameweek as energy infrastructure start up Xlinks unveiled ambitious plans to build a new interconnector that could transport energy from wind turbines and solar panels at a site in the Moroccan desert all the way to the UK’s power grid.
