Berwick Bank Secondary Grid Connection Confirmed.

Indicative map of connection points for Berwick Bank Wind Farm, please note map is indicative and not reflective of final cable routes.

As of July 2022, National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO) has completed a Holistic Network Design (HND) review of the GB electricity network with a view to assessing how best to accommodate the UK Government’s ambition for 50GW of offshore wind in Great Britain by 2030.  

Following this review it has been confirmed that a secondary grid connection for Berwick Bank Wind Farm will be provided at Blyth in Northumberland. 

At a capacity of 4.1GW, Berwick Bank Wind Farm, which is being developed by SSE Renewables, represents one of the largest offshore wind opportunities currently in development in the world. 

Developing a project of this scale requires the Berwick Bank team to work alongside a number of key stakeholders at various points in the development process. As part of this, the team engages with the National Grid extensively to determine which points on the GB electricity grid would be suitable for the project to connect to the network. 

SSE Renewables has already secured a grid connection for Branxton, East Lothian and the company has been engaging with stakeholders in this area and developing its proposals for East Lothian over several years. 

Project director Alex Meredith, said: “SSER are committed to deliver Berwick Bank Wind Farm at its full 4.1GW scale by 2030 and have been in discussion with National Grid ESO over a number of months to identify and confirm the optimum grid connections to achieve this. Our first connection location has been confirmed for Branxton, East Lothian with a connection date in 2026 with a second connection date also in Branxton in 2027 

“Following the Holistic Network Design review undertaken by National Grid ESO we have now confirmed an additional grid connection location for Blyth, Northumberland with a connection date in 2031, however we continue to progress design and consenting work at Berwick Bank to maintain maximum optionality to fully deliver Berwick Bank’s 4.1GW capacity by 2030.”

The Project team look forward to beginning formal engagement and consultation with a range of stakeholders over the coming months regarding our planned proposals for our Blyth connection point