National Grid updates plan for LionLink interconnector

National Grid Ventures (NGV) has published updated proposals for the LionLink interconnector, which will connect the future Nederwiek 3 offshore wind farm in the Netherlands to the UK and Dutch grids.

NGV, responsible for building and operating the UK side of LionLink, has now opened an eight-week public consultation for the revised plan that, among other things, names Walberswick as the planned landfall site for the subsea cable.

Following previous consultations on LionLink in 2022 and 2023, NGV announced that the subsea cable for LionLink will be located onshore at Walberswick.

In February 2025, NGV said it selected Walberswick as the preferred landfall location for the new subsea interconnector since the site required a shorter onshore cable route (19.9 kilometers) compared to the alternative Southwold route (32.8 kilometers), reducing the environmental impact and disruption to residents. Walberswick is also less susceptible to coastal erosion and flooding, making it a more sustainable option for the long-term operation of LionLink, NGV says.

NGV stated on January 8 that it was also working closely with local authorities to ensure that no construction takes place on the beach, and that there will be no visible infrastructure once the project is complete. Eighty-four per cent of the UK section of the LionLink cable will be offshore, and all onshore sections will be buried underground.

“Our plans for LionLink have moved on significantly since we first announced the project. We’ve worked hard to ensure our approach will deliver real, lasting benefits to the economy with as little disruption as possible”, said Gareth Burden, Project Director for LionLink.

“Everyone who took the time to comment on our initial proposals since the 2022 and 2023 non-statutory consultations has helped us to refine our plans and consider the concerns of the community. We are coordinating with other developers in Suffolk on a regular basis so that where possible, we can work together to ensure construction is carried out in manageable sections, and we can avoid long term disruption in any one area.”

LionLink will use the offshore grid connection of the Nederwiek 3 offshore wind farm in the Netherlands to connect to both the Dutch and the UK onshore high-voltage grids. The interconnector can also be used as an additional high-voltage link to exchange electricity between the countries.

The project was launched in April 2023, when the Netherlands and the UK unveiled their plan to build LionLink and said this would be a first-of-its-kind electricity link to connect offshore wind between the two countries via interconnections. On the Dutch side, TenneT is responsible for the LionLink interconnection.

Shortly after this, National Grid Lion Link Limited applied for the electricity interconnector with the UK energy market regulator Ofgem, requesting a licence that would authorize it to participate in the operation of the interconnector in Great Britain.

LionLink expects to apply for the Development Consent Order (DCO) with the UK Planning Inspectorate in 2026 and to receive a decision in 2027. The interconnector is planned to be in operation from 2032. 

At the beginning of last year, Dutch Climate and Green Growth Minister Sophie Hermans included LionLink in the country’s latest Offshore Wind Energy Development Framework. 

The offshore wind development tender for Nederwiek 3 is planned to be launched in 2026, when the Dutch government will also award the Nederwiek 2 site and the Nederwiek 1B site whose tendering was postponed from 2025 to 2026.

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