UK-based health-and-safety specialist Steel River Consultants (SRC) has been selected to act as hazard identification (HAZID) facilitator and provide CDM support and health and safety advisory services to cable supplier Prysmian on a project to construct an electricity link between the UK and Norway.
The North Sea Link (NSL) project, a project owned 50 per cent each by National Grid and Statnett, will be the first direct electricity connection between the UK and Norway.
At more than 720 kilometres cable route, it will be the world’s longest interconnector running from Blyth, in Northumberland, to Kvilldal, in Rogaland, on the Norwegian side.
Prysmian has been awarded a contract to design, fabricate and install 2 x 470km of sub-sea cables and 2 x 2km of onshore cables which will be manufactured at the group’s factory in Naples and installed using its cable laying vessel the Giulio Verne.
The interconnector will be installed by the end of 2021 and will allow Britain to import and export up to 1,400MW of electricity – enough to meet the annual power needs of almost a million homes.
“The North Sea Link will allow the UK to export electricity when renewable sources of generation is high but demand is low, such as on an evening or at weekends when high industrial users are not productive, helping to conserve the water levels in Norwegian reservoirs, and when demand is high here, we will be able to draw on Norwegian hydro power,” Chris Lawson, SRC’s Regional Manager said.
By sharing renewable energy both countries will be better able to meet their international climate change obligations, SRC said.