The east Suffolk area is being targeted for a number of energy development projects, perhaps most notably the plans for the new Sizewell C nuclear power station.

The number of schemes can sometimes cause confusion, so the EADT has created a brief list of the different initiatives, what is involved and how long each is expected to take.

Sizewell C

The proposed dual reactor nuclear power station is expected to cost £25 billion, with the Government contributing more than £1bn of the total cost and will generate enough electricity to power six million homes.

Beccles & Bungay Journal: The planned Sizewell C nuclear power stationThe planned Sizewell C nuclear power station (Image: Archant)READ MORE: Campaigners lose appeal for Sizewell C judicial review

Then business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng gave the go-ahead for the project in July 2022, with the Government saying the scheme will help save as much as nine million tonnes of carbon emissions each year.

The station is expected to be built next year and foundation works for the project are already under way.

However, a number of campaign groups are opposed to the project, including Together Against Sizewell C (TASC), claiming the station will cause environmental damage and will be costly.

READ MORE: Consultation on Suffolk Sea Link offshore electricity plans

Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal rejected the campaigners' bid for a judicial review into the Government's approval of the project, saying that a desalination plant had not been taken into account when the approval was given.

Sea Link

Sea Link is a project being developed by electricity and gas company National Grid to install a new 2 gigawatt (GW) cable, around 90 miles (140km) in length, between Suffolk and Kent.

The scheme aims to bring energy onshore from the North Falls and Five Estuaries wind farms located 20km and 37km off the Suffolk coast respectively.

A series of options are being considered to 'land' cables on the Suffolk coast, including a site to the north of Aldeburgh and at Sizewell.

Campaign groups, including Suffolk Energy Action Solutions (SEAS), are opposed to the plans to route cables through the Suffolk countryside and create a substation at Friston due to the impact on the environment, social health and wellbeing and the tourist economy, as well as coastal communities.

READ MORE: National Grid Walberswick talks to be helf over LionLink

Public consultations for the project started in October and ended on Monday with a series of studies set to take place to look into the possibility of co-ordinating the cables from the two wind farms offshore before bringing them to land.

The studies are due to be completed by March.

Lion Link

The Lion Link project refers to an electricity link to supply 1.8GW of clean electricity to Dutch and British markets by connecting to Dutch offshore wind farms through the use of subsea electricity cables called interconnectors.

National Grid is considering a number of possible sites to bring the cables onshore in Suffolk, including at Walberswick.

READ MORE: Aldeburgh news

Public consultation events took place around Southwold, Leiston and Walberswick throughout September and October.

Feedback from the consultations will be submitted as part of the Development Consent Order (DCO) for the project, which refers to the permission needed to build.

The DCO is expected to be submitted in 2025, with a decision expected in 2026. 

If permission is granted, then Lion Link is expected to be operational by 2030.

READ MORE: Suffolk news