National Grid Ventures (NGV) is developing plans to deliver Nautilus, a new subsea cable allowing electricity to flow between the UK and Belgium. The new Offshore Hybrid Asset could supply enough electricity to power around 1.4 million UK homes.

The connection agreement for the proposed Nautilus interconnector has always been at Friston. In response to community concerns about the number of energy projects taking place in Suffolk, we explored the possibility of moving Nautilus to the Isle of Grain. In March 2024, the regulator, Ofgem, announced that it did not approve this proposal because the constraint costs i.e., the cost of upgrading the network around Grain to transmit the power between Nautilus and the electricity system would be too high.

15 July 2024 – Ofgem has announced that it is consulting on the possibility of Nautilus connecting at Friston as part of its Initial Project Assessment of Nautilus. Unlike at Grain, there is capacity in the electricity system at Friston. This means that the cost of connecting Nautilus at Friston is lower, as there are fewer reinforcements and upgrades needed to transmit the energy between Nautilus and the wider electricity grid.

The Ofgem consultation will close on 15 August 2024. We anticipate having clarity on the future of Nautilus in Autumn 2024. 

https://www.nationalgrid.com/national-grid-ventures/interconnectors-connecting-cleaner-future/nautilus-interconnector