Ofgem approves Britain’s biggest single grid investment for ‘electricity super highway’ | Business News

The biggest investment in the power grid in British history has been approved, paving the way for an electric superhighway, the energy regulator has announced.

The £3.4 billion project will transport energy from Scotland to Yorkshire, helping to support offshore wind development and powering two million homes and businesses for an hour, regulator Ofgem said.

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It will consist of 436 kilometers of submarine cables and will cost £4.3 billion, taking inflation into account.

Right now, energy producers are paid to stop generating electricity during periods when there is a lot of traffic on the network, but this network expansion will reduce the need for shutdown requests, saving £1.5 billion.

Building the network of the future

New infrastructure such as the motorway, called Eastern Green Two, is needed to develop a national electricity grid that moves electricity from where it is produced – often off the coast of Scotland – to densely populated areas where it is mostly consumed. .

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Before renewable electricity production began, electricity was generated from fossil fuel-fired power stations located near coal fields in the Midlands.

The superhighway is just the first of 26 “critical” energy projects in Ofgem’s fast-track funding process for offshore wind.

Under the accelerated funding plans, Ofgem said it can approve necessary investments in the network two years faster than other infrastructure proposals.

Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley said: “Simplifying the process does not mean blank checks for developers as we are able to step in and make financial adjustments to maximize efficiency and consumer benefits.”

The Labor government aims to making Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030 and reducing dependence on gas markets, something that requires network upgrades.

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“Today’s announcement is another step in implementing regulatory systems and processes to accelerate grid regulation to achieve its goal,” Brearley added.

Almost £60 billion needed build the energy grid of the future in order to meet climate change mitigation milestones in just over 10 years, National Grid said in March.

Network projects could support “thousands of good jobs”, according to Industry Minister Sarah Jones.

“It’s part of our plan to reduce our dependence on fossil fuel imports so we can protect taxpayers, increase Britain’s energy independence and accelerate our path to net zero.”