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Multibillion-dollar project set to revolutionize power generation and reduce consumer costs receives green light: 'Today's announcement brings us closer'

"We can shield consumers from volatile gas prices while delivering abundant, affordable energy."

"We can shield consumers from volatile gas prices while delivering abundant, affordable energy."

Photo Credit: Eastern Green Link

A major energy project just got the green light to help millions of British homes run on clean, wind-powered electricity, Environment+Energy Leader reported.

Eastern Green Link 1 secured $2.5 billion to build a 196-kilometer cable to move wind energy from Scotland to northern England.

The cable will mostly run through the North Sea, connecting wind farms to power stations that serve about two million homes. Only about 20 kilometers of cable will be on land, linking the Torness substation in Scotland with the Hawthorn Pit substation in England.

The project is good news for people's wallets, as power companies have to pay wind farms to stop making extra electricity when it's windy. This new cable will save more than $1 billion yearly by letting that energy flow to homes instead. Those savings will show up as lower energy bills for families.

Local communities near the project will also get $10 million in funding for social programs. Plus, the switch to homegrown wind power could create 400,000 jobs by 2050, with 150,000 of those in Scotland and northern England.

This cable is part of a larger push to build cleaner energy systems faster. It's the second of 26 priority projects that will help the United Kingdom reach its goal of getting 50 gigawatts of wind power up and running by 2030.

"Today's announcement brings us closer to achieving Great Britain's 2030 clean power ambitions," said Beatrice Filkin, who leads major projects at the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets. "By harnessing homegrown wind power, we can shield consumers from volatile gas prices while delivering abundant, affordable energy."

This project marks a big step toward powering British homes with local, clean energy that costs less and helps clear the air.

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