# Eastern Green Link 1 Breaks Ground on Onshore 2 GW ±525 kV HVDC Converter Stations at Torness and Hawthorn Pit

> ScottishPower Transmission and National Grid Electricity Transmission have commenced civil construction on the twin onshore converter stations for Eastern Green Link 1 (EGL1), the £2.5 billion, 2 GW subsea HVDC superhighway connecting Scottish renewables to England.

- **Publish Date:** 2026-10-01
- **Category:** transmission-substations
- **Reading Time:** 5 min
- **Original Source Citation:** [ScottishPower Transmission & National Grid Media Centre](https://www.scottishpower.com/news/pages/eastern_green_link_1_commences_onshore_converter_station_groundbreaking_torness_hawthorn_pit.aspx)
- **Tags:** ScottishPower, National Grid, Eastern Green Link 1, EGL1, 525 kV HVDC, Torness, Hawthorn Pit, VSC Converter
- **Canonical URL:** https://voltformer.com/news/scottishpower-national-grid-break-ground-eastern-green-link-1-converters
- **Markdown Source:** https://voltformer.com/news/scottishpower-national-grid-break-ground-eastern-green-link-1-converters.md

## Dual Converter Station Construction Milestone

On October 1, 2026, civil contractors initiated structural piling and heavy foundation excavations simultaneously at Torness in East Lothian, Scotland, and Hawthorn Pit in County Durham, England. EGL1 comprises 190 kilometers of subsea and underground ±525 kV high-voltage direct-current cables engineered to unlock constrained Scottish offshore wind generation.

The two converter stations will house symmetrical monopole Voltage Source Converter (VSC) valve halls equipped with modular multilevel converter (MMC) technology, enabling bi-directional power transmission and black-start grid restoration capability.

## Heavy Electrical Apparatus and Noise Abatement

Each converter compound will feature four single-phase 525 kV converter transformers with specialized acoustic enclosures engineered to maintain perimeter sound levels below 35 dB(A). The design includes dry-type DC smoothing reactors, GIS AC switchgear bays, and high-efficiency closed-loop demineralized water cooling systems.

Commercial operations are targeted for 2029, providing capacity to power up to two million British homes with zero carbon emissions.

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