National Grid fast-tracks overhead line upgrade project
National Grid has accelerated engineering works to address a bottleneck in connecting low carbon projects to the electricity network in southwest England and Wales.
Image for illustration purposes.
UK, London: National Grid has accelerated engineering works to address a bottleneck in connecting low carbon projects to the electricity network in southwest England and Wales.
The 82 km upgrade of one its high voltage overhead electricity lines, between Bramley in Hampshire and Melksham in Wiltshire, has been brought forward to accelerate the connection of 175 clean energy projects to the grid. The £90 million investment includes replacing conductors (the wires strung between the 229 transmission towers (pylons) on the route) with new cables which can operate at a higher temperature and therefore allow more power to pass through the transmission circuit.
The upgrade of approximately 3000 MVA will allow increased flow of electricity out of southwest England on the high voltage network, removing a constraint for the projects looking to connect in the region which currently have connection dates of 2028 and beyond. The project has been brought forward a year and will begin in January 2024, finishing in October 2025, with National Grid, in partnership with the ESO, discussing accelerated connection dates with customers as part of each individual project’s development.
This upgrade follows National Grid’s announcement of accelerating up to 20 GW of grid connections across its transmission and distribution networks, including accelerating 10 GW of battery storage projects by up to four years. National Grid is also working closely with both the ESO and Energy Networks Association (ENA) on their plans to reform the connections process, both of which are key parts of the government’s recently published Connection Actions Plan.
Alice Delahunty, President at National Grid Electricity Transmission, said: “Accelerating grid connections for clean energy projects is a massive priority for us. We recognise the urgency which is why we have brought this project forward to make a real difference for our customers.
Source: National Grid
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