Energy efficiency is still hot news in the UK and this month has had much talk about the potential for wave power but there was a much bigger announcement made regarding renewable energy. A £1bn contract was awarded Siemens and Prysmian for a new, innovative sub-sea power cable between Hunterston (Ayrshire) and the Wirral peninsula, near Liverpool.

Announced on the 16th February by ScottishPower, this new link between Scotland & England is the first of its kind and will increase the electricity flow by over 2,000 megawatts (MW). It will be the longest HVDC cable in the world and will pave the way for exciting new renewable energy initiatives to be developed in Scotland that could power 3 million homes. This venture comes at a time where independence is the high profile news with Scotland politically but this energy efficient project is much more interesting and positive!

This project began in 2009 with careful planning leading to this milestone of commencing work on the sub-sea link. Energy Minister Fergus Ewing said: “I welcome this major investment in the electricity grid between Scotland and England. Scotland is already a net exporter of electricity, and this link will help us more than double our electricity exports to England from Scotland by 2020.

This underwater link will have a capacity of 2.2 GW - a worldwide first. Despite being a huge piece of business for Siemens and Prysmian, it is clear that the exercise is of great importance to ScottishPower and National Grid as we can see from the 2 respective quotes below:

Ignacio Galán, Chairman of ScottishPower, was quoted as saying: “The HVDC link is a major project in the context of a vital upgrading of the UK electricity grid over the coming years, with the electricity grid between Scotland and England already running close to maximum capacity. The additional capacity from this link will provide a significant boost to renewable energy projects being developed in Scotland in order to bring clean energy to consumers throughout the country and at the same time help meet carbon reduction targets.

"This link will have a vital role of play in meeting both the country's energy needs and helping to address the problem of climate change. We are investing in an innovative solution, using the most advanced technology. As a result, the benefits for consumers and electricity generators in being able to transport power in the most efficient way will be felt for years to come, said National Grid director Nick Winser.