Survey activities for Scottish subsea link to take place until April

Marine survey activities are set to begin this month for the Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL 2) subsea electricity superhighway between Scotland and England.

The survey activities are planned to commence from Peterhead, Scotland, in December and continue in Scottish waters until approximately February 2024 before working south along the survey route to Bridlington.

GeoXYZ will carry out the work with its 77-meter-long multi-disciplined DP II offshore survey vessel Geo Ocean III.

It is anticipated that the activities will commence from approximately December 18 in Peterhead and are due to be completed by the end of April 2024 in Bridlington, subject to weather.

The works consist of a detailed geophysical survey for the purposes of identifying potential unexploded ordnance, with no intrusive works planned and no unexploded ordnance investigation or detonation works.

EGL 2 is being delivered by Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission and National Grid Electricity Transmission. All planning consents for all the onshore and offshore elements of the project have been granted.

Italian cabling giant Prysmian was selected as the exclusive preferred bidder for EGL 2 and EGL 1, with Hitachi Energy as the preferred technology provider for HVDC converter stations.

The EGL links are said to form part of a series of planned electricity grid reinforcements targeted at increasing the capability of the existing UK transmission network to facilitate increased flows of planned renewable generation in the North to demand centers to the South, supporting the ambitions of enabling 50 GW offshore wind generation by 2030 and achieving a net zero economy by 2050.