Eastern Green Link 2 after two years of construction: the 2 GW, 505 km HVDC link between Scotland and England takes shape

Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2), described by its builders as the biggest electricity transmission project in UK history, marked two years since the start of works on 6 November. The £4.3 billion project, a joint venture between SSEN Transmission and National Grid Electricity Transmission, will connect Peterhead in Aberdeenshire with Drax in Yorkshire along a 505 km route that includes the country's longest high-voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea cable.

The figures. The link will be able to carry 2 GW, enough, according to the companies, for around two million homes. Around three million working hours have been completed on the project so far. Along the underground route in Yorkshire, almost 70 km of land is being prepared for the cable: since enabling works began in August 2025, more than 25 km of haul road has been laid, more than 8 km of trenching dug and nine horizontal directional drills carried out.

On site. At Peterhead, the steel frame of the first converter building and the first alternating current hall are complete, and concrete works on both transformer buildings have finished. Drilling beneath the U66 road was also completed this year for the 400 kV cable that will connect the new station to the existing Peterhead substation. At Wren Hall, near Drax, the converter station has moved from earthworks to major construction. Drilling at the points where the subsea cable comes ashore is complete at Sandford Bay in Peterhead and under way at Fraisthorpe, near Bridlington.

Context. Works began in late 2024. According to the operators, EGL2 will strengthen the transmission network between Scotland and England so that more renewable electricity reaches the places where it is used. Cables and HVDC equipment are being manufactured in parallel, away from the construction sites.

What comes next. According to SSE, 2027 will be another crucial year of construction, with further work on the converter stations, cable installation and the connection of the components, and the project is expected to be fully energised and operational in 2029.

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