The NorthConnect (also known as Scotland–Norway interconnector) is a proposed 1,400MW HVDC interconnector over the floor of the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

Current status

The future of the project is unclear. In March 2020, the Norwegian Government placed the NorthConnect project on hold pending studies on the new UK (north of England) and German interconnectors, and the Government remained unconvinced in 2022.

Interconnection

If built, it would be the first HVDC route to connect Scotland's electricity network directly to that of

mainland Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

(though there are existing connections from England to mainland Europe), whereas Norway already has interconnectors to

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and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Project partners

The £1.75billion project is being promoted by NorthConnect, a Norwegian company specially set up by five electricity companies (

Agder Energi Agder Energi is a Norwegian energy group involved in hydroelectric power generation, electricity distribution, electricity trading and services for customers in the business and consumer markets. The Group operates in Norway, Scandinavia and the ...

, E-CO, Lyse,

SSE plc SSE plc (formerly Scottish and Southern Energy plc) is a multinational energy company headquartered in Perth, Scotland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. SSE operates in the United Kingdom a ...

and

Vattenfall Vattenfall is a Swedish multinational power company owned by the Swedish State. Beyond Sweden, the company generates power in Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The company's name is Swedish for " waterfall", a ...

) to advance the scheme. It is hoped that the connector will assist the growth of the

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

and Scottish renewable energy industries.

Route

If built, the Scottish landfall is will be at

Peterhead Peterhead (; gd, Ceann Phàdraig, sco, Peterheid ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement (the city of Aberdeen itself not being a part of the district), with a population of 18,537 at the 2011 Census ...

in Aberdeenshire, where the connector will join the National Grid. The Norwegian landfall will be Simalden at the head of the Hardangerfjord in Norway, at the Sima Kraftwerk hydroelectric plant.

Specification

The HVDC cable will be approximately long, and have a capacity of 1,400MW. It is expected to cost €1.7billion.

Project history

On 5 March 2013, it was announced that SSE has left the project. The Norwegian government ruled that only Statnett could own export cables. In 2016, Norway debates rules for export cables. In June 2016,

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approved NorthConnect. Other approvals were still needed. The European Union put NorthConnect on the "Projects of Common Interest" list and supported its development with €10million. A 2019 analysis by the Norwegian water department indicates that the connection would be economically viable despite an increase of less than half a eurocent per kWh for Norwegian consumers. By 2019, the project had received all the most important marine and planning consents in the UK. Following detailed design work, it was hoped that the link will be constructed between 2019 and 2022. The consortium hoped to make a final investment decision in 2020. On 25 March 2020, NorthConnect received a letter from the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, informing them that NorthConnect's license applications would not be processed at the present time. At the end of 2021, the Norwegian finance minister stated that there was no intention to process the application.

References

External links

Official website
of NorthConnect {{Sustainable development in Scotland Electrical interconnectors to and from Great Britain Electrical interconnectors to and from the Nordic grid 2020 in Europe HVDC transmission lines Kristiansand Electrical interconnectors in the North Sea Proposed electric power transmission systems Norway–Scotland relations Proposed electric power infrastructure in Norway Proposed electric power infrastructure in Scotland