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Sea Link

Pre-application

Sea Link

Pre-application

Latest update

National Grid has submitted its application for development consent to the Planning Inspectorate for Sea Link on Friday 28 March this year.

The Planning Inspectorate now has 28 days to decide whether to accept the application, allowing it to progress to the examination stage.

The Planning Inspectorate would manage the examination, with members of the public able to make representations directly to the Inspectorate. We will provide information on how members of the public can get involved in the examination if the application is accepted.

You can read more about our application submission on the Planning Inspectorate’s website, or by visiting the FAQs page.


About Sea Link 

The infrastructure carrying electricity across Britain needs to be upgraded so we can connect our homes, businesses and public services to new, cleaner and more affordable sources of energy such as offshore wind.

One of the projects that forms part of this necessary upgrade to the grid is Sea Link.

Sea Link is a 2 gigawatt (GW) high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable between Suffolk and Kent. It is approximately 138 kilometres (km) long and the majority of the cables are out at sea.

To bring the power from the subsea cables into and out of the electricity network in both Suffolk and Kent, we would need to build new onshore infrastructure including converter stations, substations and new underground and overhead electricity lines, as well as upgrading existing overhead electricity lines. 

Power will be able to flow along the Sea Link cables in either direction, depending on where renewable energy is being generated at that time and where in the country power is needed.

 

Why we need to build Sea Link

The existing electricity network in both Suffolk and Kent needs upgrading. This is because the UK’s electricity grid was originally built in the 1960s to connect electricity generated in power stations from fossil fuels, such as coal from the North and Midlands of England and South Wales.   

As the UK moves away from fossil fuels and increases clean energy generation, which is largely offshore, we need to connect electricity in new places.

Demand for electricity is also expected to increase by 50% by 2035, and double by 2050, as we decarbonise the energy that’s used for things like heating and transport. 

Therefore, significant new infrastructure is needed to connect this clean energy from where it’s now generated to homes and businesses. Sea Link is just one of several electricity network reinforcements that are needed to ensure the electricity transmission network is fit for the future.
 
 

The project programme

Oct - Dec 2022

Non-statutory public consultation

Oct - Dec 2023

Statutory Consultation

July - Aug 2024

Project update and targeted consultation

Early 2025

Submission of application for development consent

2026-2030

Construction starts

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Contact the team

If you have any questions or comments about Sea Link, please get in touch by emailing [email protected], by calling 0808 134 9569 or by writing to Freepost SEA LINK. 

Sea Link is just one of several electricity network reinforcements that are needed to ensure the electricity transmission network is fit for the future. To read more about the Great Grid Upgrade, please click below.

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