Positive
Project advancing - milestone achieved
High Impact
Major milestone or critical setback
DELAYED +7yr (May 2026): Ofgem rejected AQUIND's Window 3 cap and floor application on 12 November 2024 citing high constraint costs and deliverability issues (Window_3_IPA_Decision, p. 8). AQUIND's own revised programme submitted to Ofgem set commercial operations at Q4 2030 (revised from Q3 2027), which Ofgem rejected as insufficiently justified (§5.5). RTE assessment (cited in CRE consultation, §5.13) considers AQUIND commissioning would more realistically slip to 2034-2035 'linked to the supply lead time for a 2GW project (4 cables and 4 converter stations)'; Ofgem (§5.14) accepts this as material to deliverability. DCO re-determination remains unresolved as of May 2026 (PINS most recent update 15 Aug 2025) with MoD national security review under closed Attorney-General-appointed process; no FID, no EPC contract awarded. Resetting projection to the start of the RTE 2034-2035 range with year precision. --- According to a 2024 consultation document from the French energy regulator CRE summarising interconnector projects, the 2,000 MW Aquind HVDC interconnector (320 kV, 4 cables over a 240 km route) is planned to be commissioned in 2028, indicating the targeted start of full commercial operation at its intended capacity.