A new electric submarine cable will link the UK and the Netherlands

“The Lion Link”. Here is the name of the new link between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, the British government announced in a press release on Monday, April 24. It will be developed by the National Grid electricity network operator and the Dutch TenneT “Effective in early 2030s”, It is mentioned.

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Unlike conventional cable, the new project will connect both countries and “Simultaneous offshore wind turbines in the core of the North Sea”. This is the second such project in the world, according to the statement. The British government has also argued that it would be four times more powerful than the first link of its kind built between Germany and Denmark. Its capacity will be 1.8 GW.

A key nexus for energy sovereignty

The announcement comes at the peak of a summit in Belgium on Monday that will bring together the United Kingdom and nine European countries, including the Netherlands and France. The aim of the meeting was to seal their common ambition to increase wind turbine capacity in the North Sea.

“Today we gather at the North Sea Summit with the strong ties we have with our neighbors in Northern Europe”. England is important “Send a strong signal to Putin’s Russia that its days of dominance in global electricity markets are well and truly over.” According to British Energy Minister Grant Shabbs, as quoted in the press release.

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These types of interactions are crucial in guaranteeing countries’ energy sovereignty. But also for energy conversion.

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The UK currently has six power links with the continent. Three with France and one with the Netherlands, Belgium and Norway, the latest thanks to the installation of about 720 kilometers of underwater electricity cable from October 2021.

Other projects are currently underway, notably a giant electricity cable between the United Kingdom and Germany. The project, called NeuConnect, is unprecedented in its scale: 725 km long, 1.4 GW of electricity in both directions, or equivalent to the needs of 1.5 million households. This is the first time that the two countries will be connected by an undersea electric cable crossing German, Dutch and British waters. This titanic project will raise around 2.8 billion euros and will see the light of day in 2028.

Not all of them see the light of day. Last March, Norway rejected a power link with Scotland amid a debate over the country’s energy autonomy and the suitability of exporting electricity. Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy justified its rejection of the project, christened North Connect, to meet its country’s energy needs at competitive prices.

“After the last two cables to foreign countries (Germany and the United Kingdom, editor’s note), experience shows that we should not pave the way for additional exports”, he added.

(with AFP)