Energy & Science

U.K. Power Grid Moving Offshore to Support $27 Billion Wind Boom

National Grid to set out plan to support more renewables
Additional pylons aren’t popular with local groups in Suffolk

National Grid’s T-Pylon is a lower structure, with less physical bulk. It will be used over the Somerset levels to connect the Hinkley Point C nuclear station.Source: Daniel Jones/National Grid

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By Rachel Morison and Will Mathis

December 17, 2020 at 5:00 AM UTC

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Britain’s electricity grid operator is pushing deeper into the turbulent waters of the North Sea, seeking to support the government’s $27 billion program to build up the offshore wind industry.

Executives from National Grid Plc meet government officials on Thursday to discuss how a growing tangle of projects offshore can be best connected to the network on land. At the moment, wind farms at sea are each linked individually with separate cables. Combining some of those links could cut the amount of new infrastructure needed in half.