Ofgem has green-lit a £2 billion funding package to build out the ‘Eastern Green Link 1’ (EGL1) subsea cable project.
Spanning 196 kilometres, the high-voltage electricity cable will connect Torness in East Lothian, Scotland, to Hawthorn Pit in County Durham, England.
SP Energy Networks and National Grid PLC (LSE:NG.) have partnered up to deliver the project.
EGL1, which forms part of the Government’s Clean Power 2030 target, will transport two gigawatts (GW) of wind-generated electricity, which Ofgem said is enough to power around two million homes.
The National Energy System Operator (NESO) has highlighted EGL1 as a vital part of Britain’s clean energy future.
Around 176km of the cable will be laid under the North Sea, with around 20km on land.
Beatrice Filkin, Ofgem’s director of major projects, stated: “Today's announcement takes us another step closer to achieving Great Britain’s 2030 Clean Power ambitions.
“It means customers can reap the benefits of abundant homegrown wind faster, while also being increasingly shielded from volatile imported gas prices.”
Earlier this week, National Grid received the go-ahead for another subsea cable project to connect grid networks and offshore wind farms based in Dutch and Belgian territorial waters.