The Great Grid Upgrade is the largest overhaul of the grid in generations. It will play a large part in the UK government’s plan to boost homegrown power, helping the UK switch to clean energy and make sure our electricity network is fit for the future; carrying more clean, secure energy from where it’s generated to where it is needed.
- Hinkley Connection Project’s 116 T-pylons now ‘strung’ with overhead conductors
- Final conductors fixed into place on a row of T-pylons near Yatton, North Somerset
- 460km and 1,288 tonnes of power line have been installed between project’s T-pylons
The project spans 57km in total between National Grid’s new Shurton substation on the Hinkley Point C site and its existing Seabank substation in Avonmouth.
The project spans 57km in total between National Grid’s new Shurton substation on the Hinkley Point C site and its existing Seabank substation in Avonmouth. 48.5km is made up of overhead lines – mostly T-pylons – while an 8.5km stretch of underground cable runs through the Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The book tells a story about Alfie, a 10-year-old Anglo-Saxon living in Lincolnshire, and Dawn, an archaeologist. Together they learn about Viking Link, renewable energy and how the National Grid team who built the site discovered ancient finds while building the interconnector. The project team worked with Wessex Archaeology who helped develop and write the story of ‘Alfie’.
The way we use and generate energy is changing and with demand for electricity forecast to double in the coming years, changes need to be made to the network of overhead lines, pylons, cables, and other infrastructure that transports electricity around the country.
Since the start of the year, work has focused on archaeological surveys, vegetation clearance ahead of the bird nesting season and early site preparation, but the project will become much more visible in the community over the coming months.
Between now and summer 2024 we’ll be working with our main contractor Balfour Beatty to complete enabling works. We will then start main construction which will install the underground cables and transform the skyline around Devizes.
Three projects across National Grid’s electricity transmission and distribution networks have secured almost £400,000 to fund feasibility studies as part of the SIF’s discovery phase, which backs the most promising innovations that could accelerate the net zero transition.
Construction of the £400m project, due to start this summer, will allow more renewable and low-carbon energy to move onto the electricity grid and into homes and businesses, both in Yorkshire and further afield. This will help deliver the government’s net zero targets as well as enable a cleaner, more affordable, and more resilient energy system.
The Examining Authority has now completed its examination of the application for development consent for National Grid's Bramford to Twinstead Reinforcement.
Housing developments in parts of three London boroughs (Hounslow, Hillingdon and Ealing) have had their connection dates brought forward by the networks enabling ramped connections that deliver increased electricity supply over time. Project developments totalling 7800 homes have had their connection dates accelerated through this solution, equating to a total of 10.5 megavolt amperes of demand capacity.