World’s largest multi-use electricity power line to connect the UK with offshore wind farms

A new power line called LionLink will be built under the North Sea with the aim of  boosting UK energy supplies enough to power 1.8 million homes – more than Birmingham and Manchester combined.

It will connect the UK and the Netherlands with offshore wind farms, providing clean affordable and secure energy to Britain which will help cut household bills and, to quote the government’s press release, ‘drive Putin’s Russia further out of the energy market.’

LionLink is a multi-purpose interconnector, which is designed to link offshore wind farms simultaneously to neighbouring markets via sub-sea interconnectors. 

The cross-border electricity line, which is expected to be operational by the early 2030s, will be only the second of its kind in the world.

The first was built by Germany and Denmark and could carry 0.4GW of electricity. LionLink, however, will be able to carry 1.8GW of electricity – making it the largest of its kind in terms of capacity.

The announcement was timed to coincide with Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps’ presence at the head of a British business delegation to the North Sea Summit in Belgium yesterday, which was intended to boost the UK’s collective energy security through new renewable energy and interconnector projects.

Shapps said: ‘Today’s historic deal with the Netherlands connects our two countries together through this exciting feat of innovation and engineering.

‘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.’

National Grid Ventures are developing LionLink alongside European grid operator TenneT and their president, Ben Wilson, said: ‘Connecting wind farms to multiple markets simultaneously is a game changer for energy infrastructure and brings us one step closer to realising the enormous green energy potential of the North Sea.

‘Not only can we deploy every spare electron where it is needed most, we can help to reduce the impact of infrastructure on coastal communities.

‘We now need the right political, legal and regulatory framework to make it happen and establish a mutually beneficial North Sea grid to deliver a cleaner, fairer, more secure and more affordable energy future for British and European consumers.’