By Thomas E. Gunnarsson | Open moment Getty Images More than 1,5 1.5 billion ($ 1.95 billion) in key contracts have been awarded for a major interconnection project linking Germany and the United Kingdom as countries around the world seek to boost their energy supply through of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. The NeuConnect project focuses on submarine cables that will allow 1.4 gigawatts of electricity to flow in both directions between the UK and Germany – Europe’s two largest economies. The interface is 725 kilometers long, or just over 450 miles. Those behind NeuConnect have described the privately funded venture as an “invisible energy highway” and described it as “the first direct link between the UK and German energy markets”. The contracts concluded concern wiring projects and converter stations. NeuConnect said that Siemens Energy had been awarded the contract for the latter, which would include the design and construction of sites in Germany and the United Kingdom. The NeuConnect project had previously stated that the interconnection would allow Britain to “utilize Germany’s vast energy infrastructure, including its major renewable energy sources”. For Germany, he says, “the new connection to Britain will help alleviate the current bottlenecks where wind turbines are often switched off due to excessive renewable energy being generated.” Monday’s announcement said NeuConnect’s financial closure was scheduled for the “coming weeks”, which would allow work to begin sometime in 2022.
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The project has been in the works for some time, but its development comes at a time when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shown how dependent some economies are on Russian fossil fuels. Indeed, while the war in Ukraine has created geopolitical tension and division, it has also led to a number of initiatives defined by cooperation and common goals. The US and the European Commission, for example, recently issued a statement on energy security announcing the establishment of a joint working group on the issue. The parties said the United States would “try to secure” at least 15 billion cubic meters of additional liquefied natural gas for the EU this year. They added that this is expected to increase in the future. President Joe Biden said the US and the EU would “also work together to take concrete steps to reduce gas dependence – period – and maximize the availability and use of renewable energy sources”. NeuConnect is not the only project focusing on connecting the UK to other parts of Europe. Last year, a 450-mile submarine cable connecting the United Kingdom and Norway, allowing them to share renewable energy, went commercial. The idea behind the North Sea connection, as it is known, is to harness Norway’s hydroelectric power and the UK’s wind resources. Back in the UK, plans for a multi-billion pound “underwater energy motorway” were announced in 2020 that would allow Scotland-generated electricity to be shipped to the north east of England. The Eastern Link project, which is currently in the early stages of development, will focus on the development of a pair of high voltage DC cables with a total power of 4 GW.
