KWT staff holding up 'Rethink Sea Link' signs outside Houses of Parliament.

A Path to Sustainable Decarbonisation

As the UK accelerates its shift to renewable energy, the challenge of decarbonising the energy sector without jeopardising the environment is critical. From the Scottish Highlands to the shores of Kent, efforts to build a greener energy grid are intensifying. However, a piecemeal approach risks unintended ecological harm, weakening the biodiversity that sustains us.

A glaring example of this is the National Grid’s Sea Link project, intended to bolster the electricity network and facilitate the use of renewable energy. While this is a positive step, concerns have emerged about the environmental implications at both the Suffolk and Kent landfall locations. Within recent consultation responses, we have highlighted the urgent need for a strategic coordinated approach for sustainable energy infrastructure that decarbonises the energy sector, whilst also making a meaningful contribution to Government’s commitments to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, and to establish a national Nature Recovery Network to meet our 30 by 30 targets.  

The Need for a Unified Approach 

A truly sustainable energy infrastructure must balance climate action with nature conservation. Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) like Sea Link illustrate how poorly coordinated decisions can harm critical habitats. For example, Pegwell Bay, proposed as the Kent landfall site for Sea Link, encompasses multiple internationally protected areas such as Ramsar wetlands, Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), and Special Protection Areas (SPAs). Disturbing these habitats could have far-reaching effects on wildlife, from seals to migratory birds.

National Grid has announced efforts to reduce some impacts, such as adopting trenchless techniques for certain areas. However, the lack of comprehensive surveys, the continued risk to marine biodiversity, and the absence of an overarching cumulative impact assessment suggest gaps in planning. Our concerns about inadequate data, especially regarding protected species like seals, echo a broader call for a coordinated national approach to energy infrastructure that incorporates robust environmental safeguards. 

A Coordinated Opportunity

One pressing issue is the lack of coordination between projects targeting the same regions. For example, while National Grid planned to combine the infrastructure for three major cables – Sea Link, LionLink and Nautilus – on the Suffolk side, a similar approach has not been explored in Kent. This oversight persists despite National Grid publishing their Beyond 2030 Strategy, which outlines two future energy projects for the Kent coastline, including another new electricity cable coming onshore at Pegwell Bay. However, a recent decision made by Ofgem to move Nautilus, an electricity interconnector between the UK and Belgium, from Suffolk to the Isle of Grain in Kent, has reopened the discussion of whether the onshore infrastructure for Nautilus and Sea Link can be interrelated to minimise environmental impact and cost.

A joined-up, coordinated approach to energy infrastructure is essential to ensure that the UK’s decarbonisation goals are achieved effectively, fairly and sustainably. As multiple projects such as interconnectors, offshore wind farms, solar farms, and grid enhancements compete for limited land and marine spaces, poor planning risks overlapping impacts on communities and ecologically sensitive areas. A strategic, coordinated approach allows for the joining of infrastructure to reduce the demand for land, minimising environmental harm and optimising resources. Additionally, a unified strategy minimises disruptions to landowners and communities, fosters greater public trust, and aligns projects with national biodiversity commitments and targets. Integrated planning could also significantly reduce costs and avoid unnecessary projects when sites are chosen with synergy between initiatives in mind, streamlining the connection of renewable sources to the grid.

For example, the community campaign group Suffolk Energy and Action Solutions (SEAS) is advocating for a strategic, joined-up approach to energy infrastructure planning in Suffolk. Following the relocation of Nautilus to the Isle of Grain, SEAS is now calling for LionLink, an electricity connection between the UK and the Netherlands that was initially planned to share infrastructure with Nautilus in Suffolk, to also be moved to the Isle of Grain. SEAS argues that relocating both Nautilus and LionLink closer to areas with higher electricity demand, such as the South East, would make the Sea Link project avoidable.

Sea Link’s primary purpose is to transport electricity brought ashore by Nautilus and LionLink from Suffolk to Kent for distribution in the Thames Valley – a function that becomes redundant if LionLink also bypasses Suffolk. By integrating Nautilus, LionLink, and Sea Link into a coordinated vision, National Grid, which oversees all three projects, could help the Government save billions of pounds, reduce environmental impacts, and make better use of land and resources, all while streamlining energy transmission.

The Way Forward

To meet the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, the UK must adopt a landscape-scale vision for renewable energy projects. This means: 

  1. Strategic Coordination: a strategic, landscape-scale approach to the siting or renewable energy infrastructure. By collaborating with policymakers, planners, and energy companies, we can ensure that energy projects avoid critical habitats, prioritise the safeguarding of designated conservation sites, and enhance ecosystems. 
  1. Nature Positive Design: the need for a nature-friendly design that goes above and beyond industry standards, such as incorporating high-quality green and blue infrastructure and 20% Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). Projects should not only minimise harm but actively improve biodiversity by leaving nature better off to ensure biodiversity loss is reversed, not exacerbated. 
  1. Integration of Nature Recovery Goals: projects must actively contribute to the Nature Recovery Network, aligning with national 30 by 30 commitments to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030. 
  1. Nature’s Power, Our Climate Solution: marine habitats, saltmarshes, peatbogs and woodlands are natural carbon captures. Protecting and restoring these important habitats must be a priority to meet our climate and biodiversity goals.

A call to action

We call for a united, strategic vision that ensures renewable energy development does not come at the cost of nature. We urge National Grid to coordinate a strategic approach to their energy infrastructure projects and align initiatives such as Sea Link, Nautilus and LionLink to optimise site selection and minimise environmental impact.  This decision would reflect a commitment to responsible development, mitigating harm to fragile ecosystems while advancing the decarbonisation of the energy sector. We encourage stakeholders and the public to write to Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband, urging him to reassess these projects with a focus on strategic coordination and sustainability. 

Sea Link Consultation 

A new consultation for Sea Link is now open and will run until 12th January 2025. This follows recent changes to the scheme, detailed in newly published project update documents. We encourage everyone to write to National Grid, urging them to Rethink Sea Link by adopting a strategic, coordinated approach that avoids unnecessary infrastructure duplication, reduces environmental harm, and aligns with the Government’s 30 by 30 targets.  To learn more about the proposed changes, visit National Grid’s Sea Link Document Library and have your say by emailing [email protected] by 12th January 2025.