BAM wins Walpole converter station civils, completing its EGL3 double

National Grid Electricity Transmission has appointed BAM UK & Ireland to deliver the southern converter station works for Eastern Green Link 3 (EGL3) at Walpole in Norfolk, the contractor announced on 9 November 2026.

The award means BAM now holds civil engineering contracts at both ends of the 2GW high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link between Scotland and England. SSEN Transmission signed the contractor in June 2026 for the first phase of civils at the northern converter station near Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.

Mott MacDonald will support BAM as lead civil and structural designer on the Walpole works, BAM said.

Huw Jones, Executive Director, Infrastructure at BAM UK & Ireland, said: "With BAM appointed to civil engineering works at both ends of EGL3, alongside our work on EGL2, we're helping transform Britain's electricity network and turn the UK's clean energy ambitions into reality."

The project

EGL3 is being developed jointly by SSEN Transmission and National Grid Electricity Transmission. BAM described it as a proposed 2GW link between Peterhead and Walpole using subsea and underground cables, forming part of National Grid's Great Grid Upgrade programme to reinforce the network.

SSEN Transmission put the route at 690km in March 2026, including about 580km offshore. An earlier joint venture release, in August 2025, gave a 680km figure and described the northern end as Longside in Aberdeenshire. SSEN Transmission's converter station site is Netherton Hub in Peterhead.

In England, the August 2025 release said the cable would come ashore at Anderby Creek in Lincolnshire and run about 100km underground to the West Norfolk converter station site.

Mark Brackley, Project Director for Eastern Green Link 3, said: "Awarding this contract is an important step forward for Eastern Green Link 3 and the wider programme of network investment taking place across Great Britain."

The supply chain

The BAM appointments sit alongside two contracts signed in March 2026, when SSEN Transmission named Hitachi Energy as delivery partner for the HVDC converter stations and NKT as delivery partner for the subsea and underground cable linking them.

At the northern end, the June 2026 agreement secured Early Contractor Involvement from BAM for the first phase of civils at Netherton Hub, which SSEN Transmission said has planning in principle. When the package was tendered in September 2025, SSEN Transmission said it covered HVDC buildings, access roads, drainage and fencing, and was the final component to be tendered for the northern elements of EGL3.

James Johnson, SSEN Transmission's Joint Venture Programme Director and Deputy Project Director for EGL3, said at the time that signing with BAM was another milestone in securing the supply chain needed for the project.

Claudio Tassistro, Managing Director of Energy, Europe at Mott MacDonald, said the firm's involvement in the development of EGL3 to date meant the Walpole appointment provided continuity at a critical stage.

BAM's EGL2 work

BAM is already building converter stations for Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2), working with SSEN Transmission, National Grid and Hitachi Energy at Peterhead and at Drax in North Yorkshire. Royal BAM Group announced that contract in 2024 for a 525kV, 2GW HVDC subsea cable of about 436km, with a targeted operational date of 2029.

Programme and funding

Timescales for EGL3 have shifted between releases. In August 2025 the joint venture said construction was proposed to start in 2029, subject to approval by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. By March 2026 SSEN Transmission said construction was due to begin in 2028, with the link expected to be energised in 2033.

SSEN Transmission also said in March 2026 that a planning application for the English works was expected to be submitted later in the year.

Ofgem is consulting on a second early construction funding application for EGL3 from National Grid Electricity Transmission and Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission. The regulator said the application seeks funding for strategic land purchases, early enabling works and early procurement commitments. The consultation closes on 30 November 2026.