Agreement to land Nautilus energy project on Suffolk coast officially removed
The agreement to land a major energy project into Suffolk has officially been removed.
National Grid Ventures confirmed today the Nautlius project will no longer come to Suffolk, meaning it is only Lionlink which will be developed by it in East Suffolk.
It was set to connect in Leiston, but instead will go to the Isle of Grain, in Kent, which NGV said was always its preferred destination.
The announcement was welcome by David Beavan, East Suffolk Council’s cabinet member for housing, who said the obvious solution was an offshore grid.
Nautilus will be a subsea cable between the UK and Belgium which also connects to offshore wind.
Gareth Burden, construction director at NGV, said: “Our preference for the Nautilus interconnector has always been to connect in Grain.
“Now that Ofgem has approved this location, we can release Nautilus’ connection in Leiston. We have no plans to build Nautilus in Suffolk or to use the connection agreement for an alternative project.
“We look forward to engaging further with the community in Grain as we move forward with Nautilus which will have the capacity to power over 1.7 million UK homes.”
The energy regulator had initially not accepted the Isle of Grain as a suitable location, but after an updated assessment in November it was accepted.
Nautilus is a joint venture with Elia, the Belgian electricity operator, and NGV said it will strengthen the shared energy security of the two countries.
It will use new innovative infrastructure called an offshore hybrid asset which will connect North Sea offshore wind to the UK and Belgium via a subsea interconnector.
Cllr Beavan said: “It’s good news and it makes sense. They really need to go to London where the power is needed.
“It doesn’t even need to be on land, it could be on a platform. It’s so obvious what the answer is but everyone is thinking about one project at a time, short term rather than long term.”
Cllr Beavan also expressed his fears about how many cables would be needed to carry full energy capacity of the projects on land.
Nautilus is expected to save GB consumers almost £374 million in its first ten years of operation (2032-41).
Councillor Richard Rout, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for NSIPs, said: “We welcome the clarity that this confirmation by National Grid Ventures provides for those living and working in East Suffolk.
“However, our communities across Suffolk are desperately craving long-term clarity, certainty and co-ordination when it comes to energy projects landing in the county - rather than sporadic announcements such as this.
“Simply put, communities deserve to know if government policy means that another project will simply take the place of Nautilus? This can only be addressed with the government bringing forward an effective and clear strategic plan.”
