The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)* of the United Kingdom has denied development consent for the 2 GW Aquind power interconnection project between the United Kingdom and France, citing adverse environmental impacts on the local area and national security concerns. The Aquind project was a proposed subsea High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) power transmission line between Lovedean, near Portsmouth, on the south coast of England (UK) and Dieppe (Normandy, France) with a capacity to transmit up to 16 TWh/year. The total cost of the project is estimated at £1.2bn (around €1.4bn). In September 2016, Aquind was granted an interconnection license from the British energy regulator Ofgem to develop the project. Construction was expected to last 2 years.
* The Secretary of State, and not the Planning Inspectorate, as mentioned earlier