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Balfour Beatty's Big Win in £4.3bn Green Energy Project

69km cable installation to power the UK's clean energy future

Author

John Stephenson
December 18, 2024

Civil Edge

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What happened

Balfour Beatty secured a major contract from Prysmian to install 69km of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) land cables for the £4.3 billion Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2) project.

  • 68km will be laid from Fraisthorpe Sands to Drax in Yorkshire, with 1km at Peterhead, Scotland.

  • EGL2 will create a 2GW power link connecting Aberdeenshire to North Yorkshire.

Why it matters

EGL2 is the UK's largest-ever investment in electricity transmission infrastructure, critical to its clean energy goals.

  • The £4.3bn project will enable renewable wind energy to power 2 million homes and businesses.

  • It’s part of Ofgem’s Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment (ASTI) framework to bolster grid resilience.

By the numbers

The projects involved innovative solutions and community collaboration:

  • £4.3bn: Total cost (adjusted for inflation; £3.4bn in 2018/19 prices).

  • 500km+: Total cable length for the project (436km underwater, 69km on land).

  • 2029: Expected energisation date.

Catch-up

Prysmian, responsible for the overall cable system, received a £1.6bn contract to handle the design, manufacture, installation, and testing. Meanwhile:

  • BAM-Hitachi Energy JV is building the converter stations to process offshore wind energy for the grid.

  • Planning consents were secured in October, but additional permissions are still required.

How they’re doing it

Balfour Beatty is managing 15% of the project route, with all cables installed underground to minimise visual impact.

  • The underground cables will connect to converter stations that transform offshore wind energy into usable power.

What they’re saying

Tony Wilson, Balfour Beatty’s managing director for power transmission, highlighted their expertise:

“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.”

Tony Wilson, Balfour Beatty

What’s next

Main construction begins in early 2025, with full operation targeted for 2029. Meanwhile, EGL2 will follow the precedent set by EGL1, the first ASTI project, which secured £2bn in funding earlier this year.

Bottom line

Eastern Green Link 2 is a game-changer for the UK's renewable energy infrastructure, and Balfour Beatty is playing a key role in delivering this ambitious project.

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