The Anonymous Widower

LionLink: Proposed Windfarm Cabling Sites In Suffolk Are Revealed

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

This is the sub-heading.

National Grid has revealed where it wants to build energy infrastructure for cabling between the UK and the Netherlands.

These four paragraphs describe the project.

The power line, called LionLink, would connect offshore wind farms in the North Sea.

The energy company wants the cables to reach land at either Walberswick or Southwold, both in Suffolk.

A converter station would be built on the outskirts of nearby Saxmundham and could cover a six-hectare area.

That would then connect to a substation being built at the village of Friston, also in Suffolk, as part of the offshore wind plans.

But the plans have brought the Nimbies out in force.

This Google Map shows the Suffolk Coast, to the South of Southwold.

Note.

1. Southwold and Walberswick in the North-East corner of the map.
2. Saxmundham is just up from the South-West corner of the map, with Friston to its East.
3. Sizewell with the 1.2 GW Sizewell B nuclear power station is on the coast directly East of Saxmundham.
4. Sizewell B is planned to be joined by the 3.2 GW Sizewell C nuclear power station.
5. LionLink is likely to have a capacity of 2 GW.
6. I also believe that at least another GW of offshore wind power will be squeezed in along this section of coast.

The Sizewell site is connected to the National Grid at Bullen Lane substation to the West of Ipswich.

These pictures show the pylons that were built in the 1960s to connect Sizewell A to the National Grid.

I doubt, they would be allowed to be erected today.

One alternative would be to use T-pylons, like these built to connect Hinckley Point C to the National Grid.

There is more on T-pylons in this press release from National Grid, which is entitled National Grid Energise World’s First T-Pylons.

This Google Map shows the area between Ipswich and the coast.

Note.

1. Sizewell is in the North-East corner of the map.
2. Felixstowe, Harwich and Freeport East are at the mouth of the rivers Orwell and Stour.
3. The Bullen Lane substation is to the West of Ipswich and shown by the red arrow.

Looking at maximum power flows in Suffolk and Somerset, we get.

• North-East Suffolk to the National Grid at Bullen Lane – 7.4 GW.
• Hinckley Point C to the National Grid – 3.26 GW.

I am led to the conclusion, that there need to be a doubling of the pylons between North-East Suffolk and Bullens Lane.

I can understand why the Nimbies have been aroused.

I believe that National Grid will have to take the undersea route along the coast of Essex and Suffolk, to get the electricity to its markets.

March 8, 2024 - Posted by AnonW | Energy | Electricity Transmission, Essex, Hinckley Point C Nuclear Power Station, Interconnectors, LionLink, National Grid, Nimbies, Sizewell A Nuclear Power Station, Sizewell B Nuclear Power Station, Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station, Suffolk, T-Pylon, The Netherlands