8 major electricity connections projects we delivered in 2024

During 2024 our engineering teams at National Grid Electricity Transmission plugged in nearly 3GW of energy projects to our network, from the world’s largest offshore wind farm to the UK’s biggest transmission-connected battery.

As the transmission owner in England and Wales, we’ve been reinforcing and upgrading our high-voltage substations, often with innovative new connection solutions.

And as reform of the connections process?continues to progress, these are some of the projects we delivered in the past year.

1. Our first grid park – plugging in three projects at once

Our first ‘grid park’ in England and Wales introduces a new and innovative way for renewable energy schemes to connect. The concept allows three projects to plug in to our transmission network at the same point, saving time and money.

At the new grid park adjoining our Sundon 400kV substation in Bedfordshire, we’ve already connected a 52MW battery developed by EDF Renewables UK and have bays ready for two further projects to connect.

2. ?The UK’s first co-located solar and storage project

Following upgrades to our Iron Acton 400kV substation near Bristol to plug in the UK’s?first transmission-connected solar farm, we continued our work with Larks Green developers Cero Generation and Enso Energy to connect their additional 50MW battery via a high-voltage cable – making it the first co-located solar and storage project on our network in England and Wales.

3. A new interconnector with Ireland

Our south Wales teams completed connection work in our Pembroke 400kV substation to make the site ready for the energisation in the new year of Greenlink, a new 500MW interconnector between the UK and Ireland.

With the existing substation built in the 1960s, our engineers had to think outside the box to accommodate a modern design of circuit bay, installing a hybrid gas insulated switchgear (GIS) bay to enable the connection.

4. The UK’s largest transmission-connected battery

Drax substation site in Yorkshire – which already hosts the connection for Britain’s biggest biomass plant – was upgraded to accommodate another largest-of-its-kind technology. TagEnergy’s 100MW battery is?now connected to our network, storing and releasing green energy to power homes and businesses, and also helping to relieve any system constraints.

5. The world’s largest offshore wind farm

Our Creyke Beck 400kV substation?in Yorkshire was previously upgraded to connect SSE Renewables’ 1.2GW Dogger Bank A – the first phase of the world’s largest offshore wind farm – enabling it to produce power for the first time.

In the past year our engineers continued reinforcing the substation, completing connection works and energising a bay in readiness for the second 1.2GW phase of the wind farm – Dogger Bank B – to export power.

6. Solar power connected in Cambridgeshire

In May we connected the second solar farm in as many years to our Burwell 400kV substation near Cambridge, making the region among the highest generators of solar power at transmission level.

Our engineers plugged in Octopus’s Breach Solar Farm, whose clean electricity now flows into the grid at Burwell along with an EDF Renewables UK solar project we connected last year.

7. Reinforcing the rail network

As transport is the largest contributor to the UK’s carbon emissions, our work to support the electrification of the rail system plays a critical part in the transition to cleaner transport. This includes plugging in demand schemes that draw power from our network.

Our?Bramley Network Rail Connection?project in Hampshire involved upgrading the Bramley 400kV substation, plus building and energising a new 25kV trackside feeder station, which will help Network Rail to reinforce, futureproof and decarbonise its electrical network.

8. Battery energy storage systems

Our engineering teams across England and Wales completed connection works for over half a gigawatt of battery energy storage systems during 2024, including those already mentioned.

Further projects include 57MW batteries connected at our Capenhurst, Bramford, Monk Fryston, Ocker Hill and Warley substations – all of which will be able to provide vital flexibility, absorbing and deploying clean power to help balance the grid.

More connections to come in 2025

We expect to connect more projects throughout 2025, including another major offshore wind farm at our Lackenby substation. In total we’ve delivered around 12GW of capacity over the past five years, all of which helps Britain towards its decarbonisation goals.

> Find out more?about our connections processes