Italian based and Milan-listed cable specialist Prysmian Group has been awarded a contract worth in the region of €850 million by Eastern Green Link 1 Limited (EGL1), a joint venture between the UK transmission grid owners SP Transmission plc and National Grid Electricity Transmission plc, to provide the cable systems for a major UK network development project between Scotland and England.
The new contract, effective immediately, has now been added to Prysmian’s order backlog and follows the selection of Prysmian as the exclusive preferred bidder earlier this year and a subsequent commitment made to assure Prysmian Group’s continued capacity availability.
Eastern Green Link 1 (EGL1) will form a vital electricity transmission link between Torness in East Lothian, Scotland and Hawthorn Pit in County Durham, England and is the first contracted cable system in the UK to utilise 525 kV HVDC (High Voltage Direct Current) technology with extruded XLPE insulation.
With a power transmission capacity of 2 GW, Prysmian shall design, manufacture, install, test and commission the required HVDC cable system, delivering nearly 400 km power cable needed for the 194 km route between the two countries.
The majority 176 km portion of the route shall be installed offshore in the North Sea with onshore sections of around 8 km and 10 km in Scotland and England respectively.
Prysian also states that the offshore installation activities shall utilize a cable lay vessel of the “Leonardo da Vinci” class.
Hakan Ozmen, EVP Projects, Prysmian Group, said that “We value immensely the trust that SP Energy Networks and National Grid have placed in Prysmian to deliver this first of a technological kind project in the UK,” and that “this milestone contract is a validation of our leadership in the field of HVDC systems and the level of our commitment to providing the support our customers seek as they develop and strengthen the cable network connections required for the energy transition.”
