National Grid has appointed Bam UK & Ireland to deliver the southern converter station works for the proposed Eastern Green Link 3 (EGL3), dubbed the UK’s largest ever electricity transmission project.
EGL3 is a proposed new electricity link between Peterhead in Aberdeenshire and Walpole in Norfolk. Its stated aim is to carry more renewable power between Scotland and England.
Bam’s work for this new contract will consist of building the converter station in the UK.
In English waters, EGL3 will include 436km of high voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea cable which will come ashore north of Anderby Creek on the Lincolnshire coast.
Around 5km of underground HVAC cable will connect the converter station to the proposed 400kV Walpole B substation and then onto the wider electricity transmission network.
By increasing capacity between Scotland and England, EGL3 will aim to help reduce network constraints and carry more renewable power to where it is needed. Once operational, it will carry enough electricity to power around 2M homes.
Planning progress is at different stages on each side of the border where the converter station site in Scotland has already obtained planning in principle via the Netherton Hub process, while proposals for the English works have undergone two rounds of public consultation.
A formal planning application for the English element is expected to be submitted later this year.
Subject to approval by the secretary of state for energy security and net zero, construction is due to start in 2028 and the link is forecast to be energised in 2033.
EGL3 is one of several major transmission projects planned to cope with rapidly expanding offshore wind capacity.
Two other Scotland-England interconnectors EGL1, between Torness and Durham, and EGL2, between Peterhead and Drax, are both under construction.
Earlier this year, contracts were signed for other converter stations and the cable system that will form EGL3.
The agreements appointed Hitachi Energy to deliver the HVDC converter stations at sites in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and West Norfolk, England, while Danish firm NKT were appointed to supply the subsea and underground cable to join the two.
Together the contracts are worth almost £3bn and cover a 690km link, including roughly 580km of offshore cable.
This recent contract award forms part of The Great Grid Upgrade, National Grid’s wider programme to upgrade and reinforce the electricity network.
Diagram of EGL3 and EGL4 routes
National Grid believes that by increasing capacity between Scotland and England, EGL3 will help “reduce network constraints, connect more low-carbon electricity and meet growing energy demand”.
EGL3 project director Mark Brackley said: “Awarding this contract is an important step forward for Eastern Green Link 3 and the wider programme of network investment taking place across Great Britain.
“By increasing capacity between Scotland and England, EGL3 will help reduce constraints on the electricity network, allowing more renewable power to be transported from where it is generated to where it is needed.”
He added: “This will be vital to building a modern electricity network that can support economic growth and meet future demand.
“We look forward to working closely with Bam as we move into the next phase of delivery.”
Bam UK & Ireland executive director for infrastructure Huw Jones said: “We’re not just building energy infrastructure.
“We’re building the connections that will power Britain’s future.
“With Bam appointed to civil engineering works at both ends of EGL3, alongside our work on EGL2, we’re helping transform Britain’s electricity network and turn the UK’s clean energy ambitions into reality.”