The North Sea Link is a 1,400 MW high-voltage direct current submarine power cable between Norway and the United Kingdom.
[2] The converter station is located near to the cable landfall in East Sleekburn and is connected to the National Grid at the Blyth substation.
The offshore cable was supplied by Prysmian and manufactured at the Arco Felice factory in Naples, Italy.
[2] The project was first proposed in 2003, when Statnett and National Grid planned a 1,200 MW interconnector between Suldal in Norway and Easington, County Durham, in the United Kingdom.
Initially the link operated at a maximum of 700 MW, half its capacity, and then increased to a gigawatt.
A flaw in the English converter temporarily restricted power until the full 1,400 MW could be achieved.
[23] After being fully operational, the North Sea Link gives the UK access to the south Norway bidding area (NO2) of Nord Pool Spot[24] via the cable's own auction function.
In this analysis, over the 25-year cap and floor regime (a regulation for how much money a developer can earn once the interconnector is in operation) the benefit to United Kingdom consumers is expected to be around £3.5 billion under the base case scenario.
[27] According to Auke Lont, CEO of Statnett, Norway can use the interconnector to import electricity at times of peak supply in the United Kingdom, allowing a temporary reduction in hydroelectric output in Norway and a corresponding increase at peak Norwegian demand times.
Statnett predicted more hours with imports of zero price electricity, as the rest of Europe gets more solar and wind power,[32] and this happens sometimes,[33] allowing South Norway to act as a "battery" and transit area between shifting high and low price areas in Europe.