BALFOUR Beatty has been awarded a contract by Prysmian to install 68km of high voltage direct current (HVDC) land cables from Fraisthorpe Sands to Drax in Yorkshire, as well as an additional 1km of HVDC land cable at Peterhead.
The contract forms part of the 2GW high voltage direct current (HVDC) electrical ‘superhighway’ cable link, 525kV, to be built between Peterhead and Drax.
The Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2) project is being jointly developed by SSEN Transmission and National Grid Electricity Transmission. Prysmian was awarded a contract worth in the region of £1.6 billion by EGL2 Limited earlier this year, to design, manufacture, install, test and commission the required HVDC cable system which includes 436km of HVDC submarine cables.
Balfour Beatty is delivering approximately 15% of the route on behalf of Prysmian, building on the company’s appointment by National Grid in June 2024, to replace and upgrade approximately 25km of new overhead lines in North Yorkshire, which will increase the capacity to connect the EGL2 project.
The cables will be installed underground to reduce the visual impact of the scheme and ensure the landscape across East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and at Peterhead remains ‘unhindered’. They will connect to new converter stations located at either end of the cable, which will convert the clean, renewable wind energy that has been generated offshore and take it to homes and businesses in centres of demand across Britain.
Tony Wilson, MD of Balfour Beatty’s power transmission and distribution business, said, “With a proven track record of working on complex cabling projects, this contract further demonstrates our leading role in delivering the vital infrastructure needed to reinforce the energy sector. Our experience and deep domain knowledge positions us perfectly to complete these latest works for the project which will power around two million homes and businesses, supporting the UK’s transition to clean energy.”
Main works are expected to start in early 2025, with completion scheduled for 2029.
