The UK's National Grid Company has confirmed that it plans to go ahead with building a $1.2 bn subsea cable to Norway, following a decision by the British government to overrule local opposition to a key installation.
National Grid said deputy prime minister John Prescott has ruled that planning permission should be granted for a converter station despite opposition from the local district council in Easington, in northeast England, which had refused planning permission.
National Grid is developing the project jointly with Norwegian grid Statnett and said it hoped to reach a final decision to proceed with the 750 km cable in the early autumn, and expected to start flowing power between the two countries in late 2007.
The power interconnector would allow the UK to import electricity from Norway during rainy periods when hydroelectric production was high. Conversely it would allow exports from the UK during dry spells, and for each of the two countries to take advantage of the other's demand peaks and troughs. See MPS May 2003 p.5 for more details.
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