Stour Valley Underground

04/03/2026

28/02/2026

UKPN, our local electricity network operator that was in Chinese ownership, has just been sold to the French. Will this improve our ability to successfully argue for the removal of redundant pylons from our beautiful eastern region landscapes? Who knows... Here's an article explaining the takeover: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/02/27/france-cashes-in-britain-net-zero-blitz-10bn-deal/?fbclid=IwY2xjawQPlWtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe2ykuY8MWTXmVNCSBDXnMN0zZeGsmseATO0LF0JX6gvWIrO4XEt1e-f5HD_s_aem_iLWQUcKIL24m3xT_DZf-0Q

Sale of UK Power Networks will tighten Paris’s grip on England’s electricity systems

26/02/2026

https://nfcc.org.uk/our-services/position-statements/battery-energy-storage-systems/

Battery Energy Storage Systems - NFCC

26/02/2026

https://www.fia.uk.com/news/we-are-playing-with-fire-growing-concerns-over-battery-storage-safety.html #:~:text=Fire%20Risks%20Remain%20a%20Major,fire%20burned%20for%2059%20hours.

As battery storage sites multiply across the UK and beyond, concerns are mounting over their safety. From local opposition in Aberdeenshire to fires in California and Essex, critics warn that we may be “playing with fire”. With experts calling for stronger regulation and safer technology, the de...

20/12/2025

https://www.essex.gov.uk/news/2025/continued-opposition-norwich-tilbury-proposals #

We have submitted further objections to the Planning Inspectorate.

11/12/2025

National Grid says it is moving the project to its "preferred" location in Kent.

03/12/2025

Outraged artist Michael Carlo, whose work is in The Tate, has spoken of his fear a solar farm in the Glem Valley in Boxford will do to the landscape.

08/10/2025

What alternatives are there to pylons?

Through ESO’s independent East Anglia Study, which assessed alternatives and which I pushed hard for, we found that by using HVDC cables underground, they were able to propose an alternative to pylons that could be delivered at comparable or lower cost, assuming a baseline of 2034.

Some may say that this suggests underground HVDC is only cheaper if pylons are assumed to be ‘delayed’. If you compare two sprinters, you’d make them start the race at the same time and not give one of them a head start. Whereas, because National Grid refused to seriously consider any alternatives to pylons at the outset of their planning for Norwich to Tilbury, they’ve effectively given the pylon option a massive head-start. The only fair comparison applies the same baseline date for both.

29/08/2025

NORWICH TO TILBURY PYLON APPLICATION SUBMITTED

National Grid has today submitted an application for a Development Consent Order for Norwich to Tilbury. This submission is a landmark moment and follows more than three years of consultation with landowners, local communities and stakeholders. Their comments, along with environmental and technical assessments have helped us to develop our final proposals.

Our proposals include a new transmission line between Norwich and Tilbury along with two new substations. If consent is granted, the project will boost electricity capacity across a region that has historically had limited transmission infrastructure.

This project is a key part of The Great Grid Upgrade, 17 major infrastructure projects in England and Wales designed to help deliver more homegrown British energy to where it is needed, boosting local economies, creating jobs, and providing cleaner, more affordable energy.

The Great Grid Upgrade is vital to increase Britain’s energy security and meet growing demand for electricity in the years ahead. With demand expected to double by 2050, the Norwich to Tilbury upgrade will provide enough electricity to power up to six million homes and businesses.

The Planning Inspectorate now has up to 28 days to decide whether to accept the application. If accepted, our submission documents will be published on the Planning Inspectorate's website. This will include a Consultation Report providing responses to the feedback submitted during the 2024 statutory consultation and the targeted consultations earlier this year.

The Planning Inspectorate will then appoint an Examining Authority which will hold a six-month examination of our application. Local residents, landowners and our stakeholders will be able to register an interest at that point so they can provide comments and take part in the examination period. We provide more information on how to take part if our application is accepted.

Following examination, the Examining Authority will then prepare a detailed report along with its recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. The Secretary of State then has three months to decide whether to approve the application.
We expect the whole process to take around 18 months.

Thank you for your continued engagement as we have developed our proposals. If our submission to the Planning Inspectorate is accepted, we would be pleased to meet with you to discuss our finalised proposals in more detail. In the meantime, if you would like any further information, please get in touch with National Grid.

29/08/2025

Were Sealink to be part of a networked undersea grid (or UK Ringmain, as Stour Valley Underground called it a decade and a half ago), then this problem would not exist. The links connecting mainland Europe to Britain would connect via an undersea networked grid to the end users' nearest energy hub - (Isle of) Grain or Tilbury for London in this case. The energy would not have to travel across and around our landscapes. It is having the primary electricity distribution grid onshore that is the problem. Put it undersea, and all of this controversy goes away. The fact that we live on an island and can exploit what is clearly existing technology makes this hugely beneficial option both preferable and possible.

Action and conservation groups have written to the Planning Inspectorate demanding Sea Link cable plans be withdrawn.

27/08/2025

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/08/27/energy-bills-ofgem-price-cap-october-rise/?WT.mc_id=e_DM666004&WT.tsrc=email&etype=Edi_FPM_New&utmsource=email&utm_medium=Edi_FPM_New20250827&utm_campaign=DM666004

The cost of switching off wind farms has been blamed for pushing up household energy bills by as much as £15 a year, in a blow to Ed Miliband’s promise to cut them by £300.