National Grid's 2 GW Sea Link Wins UK Consent; Build Starts 2027

The UK government granted development consent on Oct. 30 for National Grid's Sea Link, a 2 GW high-voltage connection of about 138 km between the Suffolk coast and Pegwell Bay in Kent, according to New Civil Engineer and the East Anglian Daily Times. Construction is expected to begin in early 2027 and finish in 2031, subject to detailed construction planning, National Grid said.

Energy minister Baroness Curran signed the decision for the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, KentOnline and Suffolk News reported. New Civil Engineer put the announcement at just past 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30. Planning Geek reported that the made Order is dated Oct. 30 and comes into force on Nov. 23, 2026.

What the Order covers

Most of the route is offshore. New Civil Engineer reported about 122 km of the cable will run under the sea, with underground links to a converter station at each end. Converter stations change alternating current from the onshore network into direct current for the long cable, and back again. London Construction Magazine said the Kent landfall is at Pegwell Bay with a new converter station near the existing Richborough substation, and the Suffolk station sits within 5 km of the proposed Friston substation. Reports differ on the subsea length, with the Planning Inspectorate describing roughly 130 km, so the 138 km figure is the full scheme as National Grid describes it.

National Grid appointed Siemens Energy to build the converter stations, and Sumitomo Electric will make the cable at its new Port of Nigg factory in Scotland, which National Grid puts at a £350 million investment. The government described the link as able to carry enough electricity for around two million homes. That is a statement of capacity: Sea Link moves power between regions and generates none, as Planning Geek noted.

Why it matters for connections

Sea Link adds transfer capacity between East Anglia and the South East, where National Grid says it will help bypass bottlenecks around London. For developers waiting on grid headroom in the South East, the consent removes a planning risk from a reinforcement whose application was filed on March 27, 2025. It does not shorten any connection date by itself, because the link is scheduled to complete in 2031. Voltgrid has no source tying Sea Link capacity to data-center demand, and the reports cited here do not make that link.

Consent also keeps National Grid's transmission pipeline moving, after the approval of the Weston Marsh substation for Outer Dowsing, as Voltgrid reported.

Harm, objections and the challenge window

The 70-page decision letter accepts that Sea Link will cause "lasting landscape and visual harm", KentOnline reported, and concludes that the public benefits outweigh the harm identified. It also noted the loss of 12.21 hectares of farmland in Kent. Suffolk County Council's planning lead, Cllr Tristan Gale, said the authority was "deeply disappointed" that local voices were "disregarded", Suffolk News reported.

Challenges can be lodged with the High Court for six weeks, which would decide whether there are grounds for a judicial review, according to Suffolk News. None of the reports read for this article mentions a challenge filed.

What is not confirmed yet

National Grid said it will now review the consent details and work with councils on the requirements attached to the Order. The government says National Grid will deliver community funds of more than £1 million each in Kent and Suffolk; the decision letter states this sits outside the consent, Planning Geek reported. Reports on the total project cost conflict, and this article does not use a figure. Reported converter-station site names also differ between outlets.