Balfour Beatty has scooped a major contract by Prysmian to install 68 kilometres of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) land cables between Fraisthorpe Sands and Drax in Yorkshire, England.

The project also includes an additional kilometre of HVDC land cable at Peterhead, Scotland.

The contract is part of the Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2) project, a 2GW HVDC electrical "superhighway" designed to enhance the UK's renewable energy infrastructure. Spanning 525kV, the cable system will link Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, to Drax in North Yorkshire, England.

The EGL2 project is being developed jointly by SSEN Transmission and National Grid Electricity Transmission. Earlier this year, Prysmian was awarded a €1.9 billion (£1.6 billion) contract by EGL2 Limited to oversee the design, manufacture, installation, testing, and commissioning of the 436-kilometre HVDC submarine and land cable system.

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Under this latest agreement, Balfour Beatty will deliver approximately 15% of the land cable route on behalf of Prysmian. This builds on Balfour Beatty's prior involvement in the project, following its appointment by National Grid in June 2024 to replace and upgrade 25 kilometres of overhead lines in North Yorkshire to support the increased capacity required by EGL2.

The land cables will be installed underground to minimize the visual impact and preserve the landscapes of East Riding of Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, and Peterhead. This approach ensures that local communities and visitors continue to enjoy unhindered natural surroundings.

The cables will connect to new converter stations at either end of the route. These stations will transform renewable wind energy generated offshore into electricity for homes and businesses across Great Britain, supporting the country’s clean energy transition and meeting growing energy demands.