Helping to ensure safe, secure and affordable energy supplies.

National Grid and RTE’s IFA2 interconnector project is investing in a powerful combination of safety and security measures to protect marine users around while it lays high voltage direct current (HVDC) cables in the Channel between March 2019 and February 2020.

For the first time on an offshore cable project, IFA2 will use a combination of fast response patrol vessels with manned and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) linked by satellite to an operations room to monitor its work areas. The UAV will provide high definition images of the working area, and traffic approaching it, every five to ten seconds. The protection package aims to ensure the cable laying exclusion zone is avoided by fishing vessels which could otherwise result in costly damage to both the cable and vessel. This is in addition to the traditional measures of AIS monitoring, safety vessels, Notices to Mariners, and follows consultation with marine authorities and local fishermen in both countries.

David Luetchford, IFA2’s Project Director in the UK, said: “There have been episodes of damage to both fishing vessels and cables when vessels have ignored notifications and demarcations on previous interconnector projects. We have learned from these.

“We’ve identified a combination of several technologies and tactics to detect and deflect any vessels in our working zones, thereby ensuring risks to fishing vessels and cable laying are both minimised.”

The HVDC cables linking the electricity transmission systems of Great Britain and France are an essential part of IFA2, and will run 200km from Merville in Normandy to Fareham in Hampshire. The cables will be buried in the seabed and installed by large specialist vessels which can transport and lay long sections of cables (up to 60km). There will be an exclusion zone extending to 500m either side of the cable route during the laying and burial operations.

We’ll be restarting work to install cables for IFA2 in the Chilling area and are hosting an information event where you can find out more about this.

The open event will take place from 4pm – 8pm on 12 March 2019 at the Nook and Cranny, Hook Ln, Hook, Warsash SO31 9HH.

Last year we installed the ducts which will house the high voltage alternating current (HVAC) cables required for IFA2. We then paused work in November 2018 to reduce the risk of disturbing overwintering birds.

The season for these birds will soon be over, and we are preparing to begin work in the area again in coming weeks. The focus for our work will be laying and connecting the cables. As before, we’ll impose a 10mph speed limit for construction vehicles through Hook Village, as well as escorting any HGVs.

National Grid IFA2 has been working to install cable ducts under Stubbington Lane and Crofton Avenue.

As this work is now complete, we are in a position to reopen these roads to traffic. Stubbington Lane has been reopened, and Crofton Avenue will be reopened to traffic later in the afternoon of 1 Marc 2018.

We are grateful to local people for their ongoing patience and cooperation during this work.