Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the announcement in November 2021 that two 2GW high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electricity ‘superhighways’ will be established between Torness and Hawthorn Pit (Scotland to England Green Link 1) and between Peterhead and Drax (Scotland to England Green Link 2), what estimate he has made of the amount of energy that will be transferred via these links each year; and whether his Department plans to make payments to (a) the Scottish Government or (b) Scottish communities in relation to the scheme.

The Government welcomes strategic network projects such as the Torness and Peterhead links, and their acceleration to support 2030 offshore wind ambition, as set out in in Ofgem’s Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment framework. National Grid ESO estimates that these links will facilitate the transmission of an additional 5 TWh of energy from North to South in their first year.

Following a commitment in the British Energy Security Strategy, the Government is also looking to consult on community benefit options for communities hosting transmission network infrastructure.