National Grid has confirmed the seven winners of its Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment (ASTI) projects to connect offshore wind farms to the energy network.

The firms forming the Great Grid Partnership are:

Construction partners – Laing O’Rourke, Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, Morrison Energy Services, Murphy and Omexom/Taylor Woodrow

Design and consenting service partners – AECOM Arup JV and WSP

The ASTI projects form a key part of the £9bn Great Grid Upgrade which is building the significant new electricity network infrastructure.

National Grid said the new ‘enterprise model’ is designed to speed up the delivery of electricity infrastructure by taking a fresh approach to UK supply chain and skills issues.

The partnership aims to coordinate the planning and execution of projects, allowing each supplier and National Grid to pool their resources, skills, insights, and experience to deliver faster and more economically – driving value for money and benefits for both consumers and local communities.

Carl Trowell, President, Strategic Infrastructure, National Grid said: “Today’s announcement is another significant and exciting milestone in the delivery of The Great Grid Upgrade – the largest overhaul of the electricity grid in decades. The scale and pace of this upgrade requires us to unite as an industry and to think and act differently.

“This Great Grid Partnership is a ground-breaking initiative from National Grid that places our supply chain partners at the heart of our infrastructure upgrade programme. All our chosen partners have an established history of successful collaboration in delivering major projects and enabling innovation to thrive.

“By sharing best practice and collaborating across nine of our critical major ASTI infrastructure projects, we will set the gold-standard for future infrastructure projects in terms of driving innovation, shoring up capacity across the skills base, operating responsibly and sustainably and ultimately in getting the best value for consumers.”