National Grid PLC has opened a public comment window for early plans for the 6.9-gigawatt Cross Border Connection project between England and Scotland, part of a broader project to enable more renewables into Britain’s grid.
“The project includes a new overhead electricity line and a new substation in the Carlisle area”, the distribution and transmission operator said in a statement on its website. “The proposed line would run from the England-Scotland border near Kershopefoot to the new substation, with two possible sites under consideration, one to the north of the city near Harker, and one to the south.
“The need for the Cross Border Connection was identified by the National Energy System Operator, because more grid capacity is urgently needed between England and Scotland to transport cleaner electricity from sources like onshore and offshore wind. Electricity demand is set to grow by 50 percent over the next decade, including in Cumbria, and this project will help deliver home-grown power to homes, business and public services across the region and beyond”.
National Grid is proposing two route options. “Option A would end at a new substation north of Carlisle, near the existing Harker substation”, it said. This route would have a new overhead line stretching about 28 kilometers (17.4 miles).
“Option B would end at a new substation south of Carlisle, with a longer route of approximately 47 km”, the company said. “This route would cross Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site just north of the River Eden, where the wall survives as underground remains”.
In both routes, “the landscape already includes existing power lines, roads and other modern infrastructure”, it added.
“National Grid is committed to minimizing impact on heritage sites and will work closely with experts and local communities throughout the consultation”.
The consultation runs until December 10. The campaign includes six in-person community gatherings, four webinars and the delivery of over 11,000 newsletters to households and businesses.
“We’re at an early stage in the design process, and the feedback we receive during this consultation will play a crucial role in shaping how we move forward”, said Angela Hosford, project director for Cross Border Connection at National Grid.
National Grid said it will use the feedback to refine project proposals. It said it will hold a further consultation ahead of a planning application under the Development Consent Order process in 2028.
“If approved, construction could begin in 2030, with the Cross Border Connection expected to be operational by 2033”, it said.
Iberdrola SA’s Scottish Power Ltd earlier published a report on a public consultation on the Scottish section of the Cross Border Connection project.
“Concerns centered around the potential impact on properties, the local tourist economy, local heritage and the environment”, ScottishPower’s SP Energy Networks said in a press release October 10. “In response, and based on community and stakeholder feedback, we significantly revised the preferred route corridor, taking it further away from key heritage and tourist sites and other sensitive areas.
“The information shared will also help develop the detailed route alignment, to be developed in the next phase of project design. This work will be landscape- and environment-led to ensure sensitive siting of infrastructure”.
SP Energy Networks environmental planner Marlene Marimbe said, “The next step for us is to carry out extensive and detailed investigation, including a full Environmental Impact Assessment. This will enable us to evolve the proposals and move from a preferred route to a specific alignment with exact information on tower positions, access routes and how we will go about constructing the scheme, if consented”.
“We are on track to share the detailed proposals with the community at a further round of community consultation in late 2026”, Marimbe added.
The project is part of National Grid’s The Great Grid Upgrade, which consists of 17 major infrastructure projects across England, Scotland and Wales. These projects would expand and upgrade the network for renewables integration.
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