National Grid and Statnett, Norway's state-owned energy firm, are stepping-up work on a proposed 1.4GW subsea electricity interconnector between the UK and Norway.
The North Sea Network Project, which will connect to Blyth substation in Northumberland, should be operational by 2020, the firms said in a statement.
It follows an energy link-up agreement between the UK and Norway governments announced earlier this month by David Cameron.
Linking the two countries' power sectors, the cable, with a capacity of up to 1,400 MW, would be the world's longest subsea power line.
National Grid, which owns the high-voltage electricity transmission network in England and Wales, operating it across the UK, and Statnett are currently working on a joint seabed survey along the planned route and will now focus on obtaining the necessary permits and start the procurement process for the cable and two converter stations.
The firms said the interconnector will contribute to further integration of the North-European power markets and strengthen the North-European power grid.
"This is a huge and innovative project - it will use state of the art technology to create the longest interconnector in the world and would link Norway's flexible, clean hydro power into the UK market to strengthen energy supplies for both countries," said Steve Holliday, National Grid chief executive.
"This link will help deliver secure, affordable power to consumers as Europe moves towards using more and more renewable energy."
Interconnectors are seen as crucial to the development of low-carbon electricity supply because they provide a means of managing the increasing proportion of intermittent renewable energy supplies that will come online over the next two decades, according to Business Green.
When electricity is supplied to customers through the national grid, transformers, such as 3 phase transformers, are used to increase or decrease the voltage of the supply.
This is because electricity travels from or to a power plant at very high voltages. The transformers work by lowering the voltage for consumers and businesses.
Posted by Jack Painter