£4.3bn 'electricity superhighway' from Scotland to make landfall at popular beach near Bridlington

The UK’s single largest electricity transmission project ever, which will link Peterhead in north east Scotland with Drax in north Yorkshire, is expected to provide enough "green" electricity from Scottish offshore wind farms to power 2m homes in England.

Costs of the Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2) project, by joint venture partners National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) and Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission (SGET) have more than doubled as a result of inflation - it was estimated at £2.1bn in 2018/19.

National Grid won't say how much consumer bills will go up by - the transmission element is currently only around £20 per year - but say they expect overall costs to come down in the long term.

Ofgem has signed off £3.4bn, with NGET and SGET able to come back at a later date and ask for more.

Their decision allows construction to get underway later this year, with the connection due to be operational in 2029.

The cable will run under the sea for 436km before making landfall at Wilsthorpe, a beach popular with dogwalkers, two miles from Bridlington.

East Riding Council gave permission last year for the 70km stretch, which will cross Holderness and the River Hull before entering the Yorkshire Wolds.

It will go underneath the A1079 and A1034, as the route passes Market Weighton to the south. It will leave East Yorkshire via the River Ouse, towards its final destination next to Drax.

Planning permission is still needed for a converter station at Drax, which will convert the direct current (DC) electricity to alternating current (AC), before being fed to the grid via an existing sub station.

Contracts have now been awarded to deliver the project, including with Prysmian Group to supply around 1,000km of cable and with Hitachi Energy and BAM for the supply of converter stations at Drax and Boddam near Peterhead.

Ricky Saez, EGL2 Project Director said: “Ofgem’s decision to issue its final project assessment decision is a major milestone, and testament to the hard work of our project teams within SSEN Transmission and NGET in getting us to the stage where construction can begin later this year.

“Not only will EGL2 will play a major role in bolstering energy security and contributing to net zero targets, it will also provide a lasting legacy in local communities where our teams are already supporting local environmental initiatives that enhance community wellbeing."

Jonathan Brearley, Ofgem CEO, said: “Ofgem is fully committed to supporting the government to meet its aims of getting clean power by 2030. Today's announcement is a further step in putting the regulatory systems and processes in place to speed up network regulation to achieve its aim.

“Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment (ASTI) accelerates approval times for projects such as Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2) by up to two years. However, streamlining the process does not mean blank cheques for developers as we are able to step in and make financial adjustments to maximise efficiency and consumer benefit.”

Industry Minister Sarah Jones said: "To achieve our mission for clean power by 2030, we need a grid capable of transporting homegrown energy from renewable sources to power up our homes and businesses.

“These projects could support thousands of good jobs, whilst saving over a billion by upgrading the system, using the latest in offshore technology.

"It forms part of our plan to reduce our reliance on fossil fuel imports so we can protect billpayers, boost Britain's energy independence and accelerate our path to net zero."