Siemens Energy Bags $4B EGL4 Contract

National Grid PLC and Iberdrola SA have awarded a GBP 3 billion ($3.96 billion) contract to Siemens Energy AG for Eastern Green Link 4 (EGL4) converter stations.

EGL4, along with EGL3, is a high-voltage electricity link between Scotland and England that would integrate more offshore wind energy into the grid. EGL3 and EGL4 are proposed to start from Peterhead, Aberdeenshire and Westfield, Fife respectively and converge in Walpole, Norfolk, where a substation would connect the cables to the power network.

"The Siemens Energy contract includes two converter stations, one in Fife in Scotland and one in Norfolk in England", National Grid and Scottish Power Ltd, the UK arm of Spanish power and gas utility Iberdrola, said in a press release Monday. "The converter stations change alternating current into direct current, the most efficient way for high-voltage electricity to travel across long distances. Once converted, the electricity will travel around 640km [397.68 miles], primarily undersea, before being converted back to join the onshore transmission network.

"By increasing capacity and reducing congestion on the grid, the 2-GW EGL4 subsea link will help minimize constraint costs by accelerating the integration of cleaner sources of energy into the system, supporting the UK’s increasing demand for energy".

EGL4 deputy director Iain Adams said, “These are the first of many more UK contracts to come for Eastern Green Link 4".

Siemens Energy vice president for the UK Darren Davidson said, "With more than 7,000 people employed by Siemens Energy across the UK, including at our center of excellence in Manchester, this project highlights how investment in grid infrastructure supports skilled jobs, energy security and the UK’s long-term transition to a more resilient energy system".

Earlier Italy's Prysmian SpA secured a GBP 2 billion ($2.64 billion) contract for EGL4's cable. "The contract will see Prysmian manufacture and deliver over 640km of cable for the 2-GW subsea electricity link", National Grid said in a media release February 2.

The developers expect to submit planning applications for EGL4 in Scotland and England this year. They expect to launch "main construction" in 2028 and complete EGL4 in 2033.

Prysmian is already supplying the cable for the 2-GW EGL1 between Torness in Scotland and Hawthorn Pit in England, also a project between National Grid and Iberdrola that started construction last year.

Recently National Grid and SSE PLC awarded contracts totaling nearly GBP 3 billion to Hitachi Energy Ltd and NKT A/S for the supply of converter stations and the cable system for EGL3.

"The EGL3 contracts confirm Hitachi Energy as the delivery partner for the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converter stations in Aberdeenshire, Scotland and West Norfolk, England, and NKT as the delivery partner for the subsea and underground cable that will link the converter stations", National Grid said in a news release March 4.

"Together, these agreements, totaling nearly GBP3 billion, will see the delivery of a 690-km high-voltage link, including approximately 580km offshore between Scotland and England, capable of transporting enough power for two million homes - making EGL3 the largest electricity transmission project of its kind in the UK.

"Once operational, EGL3 will play a central role in reducing constraint costs - the payments made when wind farms are asked to turn down generation due to limited grid capacity".

EGL3 has already received planning consent in principle for the converter station site, the Netherton Hub project, in Scotland. EGL3 has also held two rounds of public consultation on planned works in England, with a planning application expected to be submitted this year, according to National Grid.

"Subject to approval by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, construction is due to begin in 2028, with the link expected to be energized in 2033", National Grid said.

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