National Grid Electricity Transmission is proposing to reinforce the electricity network between Kent and Suffolk via a new, primarily offshore, 2 gigawatt high voltage direct current link. Sea Link has been designed to increase the capability of the network to carry low carbon and renewable energy from where it is generated to two million homes and businesses across the country.
The proposed Project is split into three elements:
The Suffolk onshore scheme
- a connection from the existing transmission network via a substation near Friston, including the substation itself. The substation near Friston already has development consent as part of other third-party projects. If the substation has already been constructed under another consent, only a connection into the substation would be constructed by Sea Link
- a high voltage alternating current (HVAC) underground cable of approximately 1.9 kilometres (km) in length between the proposed substation and a proposed converter station (below)
- a 2 GW high voltage direct current (HVDC) converter station up to 26 metres (including permanent access from the B1121 and a new bridge over the River Fromus) high plus external equipment (such as lightning protection & railings for walkways) near Saxmundham
- a HVDC underground cable connection of approximately 10 km in length between the proposed converter station near Saxmundham, and a transition joint bay (TJB) approximately 900 metres inshore from a landfall point (below) where the cable transitions from onshore to offshore technology
- a landfall on the Suffolk coast (between Aldeburgh and Thorpeness).
The offshore scheme
- approximately 122 km of subsea HVDC cable, running between the Suffolk landfall location (between Aldeburgh and Thorpeness) and the Kent landfall location at Pegwell Bay.
The Kent onshore scheme
- a landfall point on the Kent coast at Pegwell Bay
- a TJB approximately 800 m inland to transition from offshore HVDC cable to onshore HVDC cable, before continuing underground for approximately 1.7 km to a new converter station (below)
- a 2 GW HVDC converter station (including a new permanent access off the A256), up to 28 m high plus external equipment (such as lightning protection & railings for walkways), near Minster. A new substation would be located immediately adjacent
removal of approximately 2.2 km of existing HVAC overhead line, and installation of two sections of new HVAC overhead line (totalling approximately 3.5 km) from the substation near Minster to the existing Richborough to Canterbury overhead line.
We are also modifying some sections of existing overhead line in Suffolk and Kent. In Suffolk, these modifications will only be delivered by National Grid if the substation near Friston is not built as part of other third-party projects.
Please note, the boundary presented for the LionLink project is taken from their non-statutory consultation materials (2022).
Latest update
On 23 April 2025, the Planning Inspectorate accepted our application for development consent for Sea Link.
We submitted our application for development consent on 27 March 2025. Since then, the Planning Inspectorate has checked whether our application includes enough detail for them to be able to accept and examine it.
The decision to accept our application marks the start of the Pre-examination stage.
Anyone who is interested can register to take part in the Examination and will have the opportunity to make either verbal or written representations about our plans. You can register to take part in the Examination between 8 May and 23 June 2025 on the Planning Inspectorate’s website here.
You can also register to receive email updates on the Examination process directly from the Planning Inspectorate.
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