Three new interconnectors to be allowed ‘cap and floor’ guaranteed return

Ofgem has agreed that three projects submitted in its interconnector ‘application window’, which closed on 31 October, are eligible for the ‘cap and floor’ regime. The regime provides a guaranteed return for the project from electricity consumers’ bills, but caps potential profits.

The three projects are: GridLink Interconnector, which will connect to France at Dunkirk and England at Kingsnorth in Kent; NorthConnect, which will join Peterhead in Scotland with Sima in Norway; and NeuConnect, the first interconnector between GB and Germany, where it will connect at Conneforde.  NeuConnect is being developed by a consortium of Frontier Power, Meridiam and Greenage.

All three projects are planned to enter operation in October 2022. GridLink would be rated at 500MW and NorthConnect at 1400MW.

There were no further applicants in this window.