About Sea Link 

The infrastructure carrying electricity across Britain needs to be upgraded so we can connect our homes, businesses and public services to new, cleaner and more affordable sources of energy such as offshore wind.

One of the projects that forms part of this necessary upgrade to the grid is Sea Link.

Sea Link is a 2 gigawatt (GW) high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable between Suffolk and Kent. It is approximately 138 kilometres (km) long and the majority of the cables are out at sea.

To bring the power from the subsea cables into and out of the electricity network in both Suffolk and Kent, we would need to build new onshore infrastructure including converter stations, substations and new underground and overhead electricity lines, as well as upgrading existing overhead electricity lines. 

Power will be able to flow along the Sea Link cables in either direction, depending on where renewable energy is being generated at that time and where in the country power is needed.

 

Why we need to build Sea Link

The existing electricity network in both Suffolk and Kent needs upgrading. This is because the UK’s electricity grid was originally built in the 1960s to connect electricity generated in power stations from fossil fuels, such as coal from the North and Midlands of England and South Wales.   

As the UK moves away from fossil fuels and increases clean energy generation, which is largely offshore, we need to connect electricity in new places.

Demand for electricity is also expected to increase by 50% by 2035, and double by 2050, as we decarbonise the energy that’s used for things like heating and transport. 

Therefore, significant new infrastructure is needed to connect this clean energy from where it’s now generated to homes and businesses. Sea Link is just one of several electricity network reinforcements that are needed to ensure the electricity transmission network is fit for the future.
 
 

The project programme