The UK market regulator Ofgem has approved eligibility of seven power interconnector projects, which will connect the United Kingdom and several European countries. The applications received by Ofgem proposed connections between the UK and Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland (UK) and the Republic of Ireland.
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners will develop the interconnectors to Belgium, Denmark and Germany, while AQUIND will develop the interconnector to France (2 GW) and the NU-Link Consortium will develop the interconnector to the Netherlands. The Northern Ireland (133 km, 700 MW) and the Republic of Ireland (245 km, 750 MW) interconnector projects will be developed by Transmission Investment and MCL, respectively.
The approval by Ofgem follows the launch of a third cap and floor application window for electricity interconnectors, which ran from 1 September 2022 until 10 January 2023. The proposed interconnectors are expected to be able to start operations prior to the end of 2032. The projects that were successful in fulfilling the eligibility criteria and will now move to the next stage which will involve a case assessment. Ofgem plans to consult on these decisions in the latter half of 2023.
The UK currently has 6 GW of interconnection capacity with neighbouring countries and plans to increase this capacity.
