Accelerated Energy Transitions and Electricity Transmission: A Socio-technical Analysis of Interconnector Projects in Northern Europe

Europe's transition to renewable energy depends not only on deploying more wind and solar farms, but also on upgrading the electricity grids that connect them to where electricity is needed.However, insufficient progress in expanding high-voltage transmission networks is threatening further decarbonisation.This research examines two major cross-border grid projects aiming at linking Norway with Germany (NordLink) and the UK (NorthConnect).By investigating their development paths, we show how technical, political, and regulatory considerations shape progress and provide evidence to why some projects succeed while others stallinsights that can help accelerate clean energy transitions. The Technical SummaryAccelerating renewable energy deployment in northern Europe exposes growing imbalances between electricity generation and the required grid capacity, creating bottlenecks such as curtailment and long connection queues.While addressing these challenges calls for large scale and coordinated electricity grid expansion, many current projects are either delayed or cancelled.