Balfour Beatty will install 68 kilometres of high voltage direct current (HVDC) underground cables from Fraisthorpe Sands to Drax in Yorkshire, as well as an additional 1 kilometre of HVDC land cable at Peterhead in Scotland.
Main works are expected to start in early 2025, with completion scheduled for 2029. At construction peak, the project is expected to employ 140 people.
The contract forms part of the 2GW 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. Italian cabling company Prysmian was awarded a contract worth in the region of €1.9bn (£1.6bn) by EGL2 Limited earlier this year to design, manufacture, install, test and commission the required HVDC cable system, which includes 436 kilometres of HVDC subsea cables.
Balfour Beatty is delivering approximately 15% of the route on behalf of Prysmian, building on its 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 connect to new converter stations located at either end, which will convert wind energy that has been generated offshore and distribute it across Great Britain.
Tony Wilson, managing director 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.”
Balfour Beatty was also recently appointed to deliver the £363m Bramford to Twinstead Reinforcement scheme in East Anglia for National Grid. [See previous report here.]
