View source for Isle of Man to England Interconnector

{{Short description|Subsea electricity cable between British mainland and Isle of Man}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox power transmission line
| name        = Isle of Man to England Interconnector
| photo       = 
| caption     = 
| map         = {{maplink |type=line |frame=yes |plain=yes |frame-align=center |zoom=5}}
| map_caption = 
| country     = [[United Kingdom]] & [[Isle of Man]]
| state       = 
| province    = 
| coordinates = {{Coord|53|50|57|N|03|01|46|W}}<br />{{Coord|54|08|52|N|4|28|51|W}}
| direction   = 
| start       = [[Bispham, Blackpool]], England
| through     = [[Irish Sea]]
| finish      = [[Douglas Head]], Isle of Man
| par         = 
| owner       = 
| partners    = [[National Grid plc]]
| operator    = 
| cable_manufacturer= [[British Insulated Callender's Cables|BICC]], [[Erith]]<br />[[Pirelli]] Cables, [[Southampton]]
| cable_installer= 
| cable_layer = 
| substation_manufacturer= 
| substation_installer= 
| contractors = 
| construction= 1999
| expected    = 
| est         = 2000
| decom       = 
| type        = submarine cable
| current_type= [[Alternating current|AC]]
| length_km   = 104
| capacity    = 40{{nbsp}}MW
| AC_voltage  = 90{{nbsp}}kV
| poles_no    = 
| circuits_no =
}}
The '''Isle of Man to England Interconnector''' is a [[submarine power cable]] connecting the [[Electric power transmission|transmission system]] of the [[Manx Utilities Authority]] to that of [[National Grid (Great Britain)|Great Britain]]. With an undersea section of approximately {{convert|104|km|mi|0|abbr=in}},<ref>{{cite conference| first = B. | last = Howarth |author2=Coates, M. |author3=Renforth, L.| title = Fault location techniques for one of the World's longest AC interconnector cables| book-title = 8th IEE International Conference on AC and DC Power Transmission| pages = 14–18| date = March 2006| isbn=0-86341-613-6}}</ref> it is the second-longest [[Alternating current|AC]] undersea cable in the world.<ref name=mea>{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.im/mea/projects/|title=The Longest AC Subsea Cable in the World|work=Major Assets|publisher=Manx Electricity Authority|access-date=2008-10-22}}</ref>{{efn|Longer undersea cables exist, but all operate on [[direct current]].}}

== Route ==
It was laid in 1999 between [[Bispham, Blackpool]], England, and [[Douglas Head]] on the [[Isle of Man]],  commencing commercial operations in November 2000. It is capable of continuous operation of 40{{nbsp}}[[megawatt|MW]] at 90{{nbsp}}[[kilovolt|kV]] (although other sources say 65{{nbsp}}MW at 132{{nbsp}}kV AC<ref name="AWJ">{{cite web|url=http://www.awjmarine.co.uk/fishery-liaison/isle-of-man-interconnector/|title=Isle of Man Interconnector Cable|date=n.d.|access-date=14 June 2021|publisher=AWJ Marine}}</ref><ref name="Manx">{{cite web|url=https://www.manxutilities.im/about-us/our-assets/electricity/subsea-cable/|title=Subsea cable|date=n.d.|access-date=14 June 2021|publisher=Manx Utilities}}</ref>)

== Structure ==
The cable was manufactured in two parts: one section at the former [[British Insulated Callender's Cables|BICC]] works in [[Erith]] and the other at [[Pirelli]] Cables in [[Southampton]]. It ended the Isle of Man's dependence on local diesel-powered generation.<ref name=mea/> Power supplies to the island were increased in 2003 by an 85{{nbsp}}MW [[combined cycle gas turbine]] power station at Pulrose, in the capital, [[Douglas, Isle of Man|Douglas]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Pickin|first=M|date=2004|title=Power to Pulrose|journal=Power Engineer|volume=18|publisher=IEEE|issue=1|pages=14–16|issn=1479-8344}}</ref>

The electricity cable is bundled with a [[fibre-optic cable]] which is used for telecommunications. The cable is owned by e-llan Communications, which is part of Manx Utilities. The electricity cable is used for importing and exporting electricity between the Isle of Man and the GB National Grid.<ref name="Manx"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gasnet.com.br/artigos/artigos_view2.asp?cod=534|title=ISLE OF MAN PLANT HAS NOVEL DESIGNS|publisher=Turbomachinery International|author=Eric Jeffs|date=May–June 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041224050220/http://www.gasnet.com.br/artigos/artigos_view2.asp?cod=534|archive-date=2004-12-24}}</ref>

The cable is mostly buried at around {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=on|0}} depth but is on the seabed surface at six locations with protective [[cable mattress]]es.<ref name="AWJ"/>

== Capacity ==
On the 20th anniversary in 2020 of its commissioning a total of 1.5{{nbsp}}TWh of power has been exported to the UK grid which contributed £47{{nbsp}}million to the revenue of the Isle of Man.<ref>{{Cite web |title=20 years of subsea cables celebrated by partnering with Marine Nature Reserves |url=https://www.manxutilities.im/news/2020/dec/20-years-of-subsea-cables-celebrated-by-partnering-with-marine-nature-reserves/ |access-date=5 November 2022}}</ref>

The amount of electricity sold to the UK since 2014{{ndash}}15 and the revenue gained each year was as follows:<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.manxutilities.im/about-us/annual-reports-financial-statements/annual-reports-financial-statements/ | publisher = [[Manx Utilities Authority]] | title = Annual Reports & Financial Statements | access-date = 2 February 2022}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Year'''
|2014{{ndash}}15
|2015{{ndash}}16
|2016{{ndash}}17
|2017{{ndash}}18
|2018{{ndash}}19
|2019{{ndash}}20
|2020{{ndash}}21
|-
|'''Electricity to the UK,  GWh'''
|93
|87
|105
|95
|131
|192
|168
|-
|'''Revenue from sales to UK'''
|£1.8M
|£3.2M
|£4.6M
|£3.2M
|£3.4M
|£4.3M
|£3.8M
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|the United Kingdom|Energy}}
*[[Western HVDC Link]] between Scotland and Wales
*[[HVDC Moyle]] between Scotland and Northern Ireland
*[[East–West Interconnector]] between Wales and the Republic of Ireland
*[[Manx Utilities Authority]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{coord |54|0|N|3|50|W|type:landmark_region:IM_scale:500000|display=title}}

{{Energy in the United Kingdom|sources}}
{{Blackpool buildings}}

[[Category:Electrical interconnectors to and from Great Britain]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in the Isle of Man]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Blackpool]]
[[Category:Electric power infrastructure in England]]
[[Category:Energy infrastructure completed in 1999]]
[[Category:1999 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Isle of Man–United Kingdom relations]]
[[Category:High-voltage transmission lines]]