As part of the UK’s climate commitments, the Government has set ambitious targets to deliver up to 50 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2030, have the UK powered entirely by clean electricity, subject to security of supply, by 2035 on the way to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The UK electricity industry is evolving at pace to help lead the way in meeting the climate challenge, whilst also creating a secure energy supply based on renewable and low carbon technologies.

The demands on the electricity network are set to grow as other sectors of the economy diversify their energy consumption from using fossil fuels towards cleaner forms, the move towards electric vehicles being just one example.

Where we’re getting our power from is changing and we need to change too. The new sources of renewable and low-carbon energy are located along the coastline. We need to reinforce existing transmission network and build new electricity infrastructure in these areas in order to transport the power to where it’s needed. This is the case along the whole of the East Coast including Suffolk and Kent.

To allow this increase in energy generation, we need to reinforce the electricity transmission system. Sea Link helps to reinforce the electricity network across Suffolk and Kent.

Our proposals include building an offshore high voltage direct current (HVDC) link between Suffolk and Kent with onshore converter stations and connections back to the national electricity transmission system.

Our public consultation

The Sea Link project will seek to obtain a development consent order (DCO) under procedures governed by the Planning Act 2008.

We will submit an application for development consent to the Planning Inspectorate, who will assess it and make a recommendation to the Secretary of State, who will decide on whether a DCO should be granted for the project.

We want to ensure that all stakeholders, including local communities, are engaged in the development of our proposals and have the opportunity to comment on these proposals at key decision making points.

Thank you to everyone who took part in our initial, non-statutory consultation for Sea Link which ran from Monday 24 October to Sunday 18 December. In the coming months, we will use the feedback – along with further technical assessments and surveys - to continue to refine and develop our proposals. We expect the next round of consultation to take place in late 2023, where we will present and gather feedback on our refined proposals.  

Read more about the non-statutory consultation here.

More information

Offshore wind

About Sea Link

Why the project is needed

Need for Sea Link

Find out more about the need for reinforcement

Virtual exhibition

View our non-statutory proposals by visiting our virtual exhibition

Interactive map

View an interactive map of our non-statutory consultation proposals

Document library

View all consultation documents and materials for Sea Link

Man and lady standing near van

Frequently asked questions

Find answers to our most asked questions

Sheffield ecology

Surveys

Find out more about our ongoing and previously undertaken surveys

Sea Link

Contact us

Please get in touch if you have any questions or comments about Sea Link by emailing [email protected] or calling us on 0808 134 9569.

You can also write to us at FREEPOST SEA LINK, please note no stamp or further address details are required.

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