The United Kingdom energy regulatory institutions Ofgem approved the construction of five new submarine cables connecting the United Kingdom with mainland Europe and Ireland. The United Kingdom seeks to benefit from the expansion of wind power generation capacity and become a net electricity exporter by the end of the 2020s.

The plan includes supplying up to 4.6 gigawatts of electricity to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany via the North Sea, as well as approximately 1.5 gigawatts to Ireland and Northern Ireland. Currently, the United Kingdom imports electricity from France most of the time to meet demand.

Due to the significant increase in offshore wind power generation capacity, grid connections are a crucial part of the United Kingdom's path to achieving a clean grid by 2030. To meet this goal, the United Kingdom's electrical utilities anticipate a 50% expansion in grid transmission capacity by the end of the 2020s.