The world’s largest multi-use electricity power line will be built under the North Sea and should boost UK energy supplies to power 1.8 million homes, the UK government said this morning.
The new LionLink will connect the UK and the Netherlands with offshore wind farms, providing clean energy to British households.
The cross-border electricity line will be only the second of its kind in the world, with the first having been built by Germany and Denmark.
However, "it will be able to carry more than four times the amount of electricity as its predecessor – making it the largest of its kind in terms of capacity anywhere in the world," the UK government said in a statement.
The new LionLink will carry 1.8GW of electricity, compared to Germany and Denmark’s Kassø-Frøslev (Kriegers Flag), which carries 0.4GW. It will be developed by National Grid Ventures and TenneT and will be operational by the early 2030s.
This builds on the 8.4GW interconnector capacity that the UK has – and LionLink alone will increase that by up to a fifth, meaning more clean and affordable power for UK homes and businesses, the government clarified.
While normal interconnectors only connect two countries, the multipurpose LionLink will join the UK and Netherlands to each other as well as simultaneously with offshore wind farms at the heart of the North Sea, according to the statement sent to Net Zero Investor.
The government is announcing the project between the UK and the Netherlands as the so-called North Sea Summit starts in Belgium, which will focus on energy security through new renewable energy and interconnector projects.
The summit will see nine countries meet in Ostend to agree ambitions for building future offshore wind farms. While there, the UK is expected to sign an agreement with Denmark to boost trade in cheaper, cleaner energy.
"Today’s historic deal with the Netherlands connects our two countries together through this exciting feat of innovation and engineering, the largest of its kind in the world which will provide enough electricity for more homes than in Manchester and Birmingham combined," UK's Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps said.
“Together with the strong ties we have with our northern European neighbours united today at the North Sea Summit, we are bolstering our energy security and sending a strong signal to Putin’s Russia that the days of his dominance over global power markets are well and truly over.
