Campaigners say a National Grid report which does not include any undersea power cables off the Suffolk coast is throwing East Anglia "under a bus".
It comes as 13 MPs have now demanded the National Grid reopens a consultation into the East Anglia GREEN proposal to build a line of 50-metre pylons through the countryside.
More than 21,500 people have signed a petition calling for the proposed network of pylons – which would connect Norwich to Tilbury in Essex, via a substation in Bramford – to be scrapped and replaced with cables on the seabed to spare the East Anglian beauty spots.
But in a report on how to transmit the off-shore energy that will be built by 2030 is transmitted to consumers, no cables were planned off the Suffolk coast.
Rosie Pearson, spokeswoman for Essex Suffolk Norfolk Pylons, said: "This new report fails abysmally to address the concerns of over 21,000 who have signed a petition calling to have this network offshore – it’s short-sighted and shameful.
"East Anglia is being thrown under a bus while significant additional offshore networking over much longer distances has been recommended for Scotland and north England.”
She added: “Communities, countryside and habitats along National Grid’s East Anglia GREEN pylon route have been ignored – and that is completely unacceptable.
"Energy is not clean and green when transporting it to London wreaks unnecessary havoc on wildlife and communities. For far too long wind farm operators and National Grid have been allowed to get away with their harmful piecemeal approach, and, under today’s report, this will continue."
Bosses at the Electricity System Operator, which authored the report, said East Anglia GREEN was beyond the scope of the report, but further work on the off-shore transmission off the coast of Suffolk and Norfolk was underway.
Politicians from across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex have written to Greg Hands, minister of state for energy, clean growth and climate change asking that National Grid reopen the public consultation on the plans citing an email in which bosses at the energy grid operator say running cables undersea will "significantly reduce" the impact to communities in Scotland and the north of England.
The MPs, who have formed a group called the Off-Shore Electricity Grid Task Force (OffSET), wrote: "We are sure you will agree that this represents a gross unfairness, with one approach in one part of the UK, one approach in another – and yet all our constituents are bill payers, funding this infrastructure, and surely deserve equal treatment. To avoid our constituents feeling like second-class citizens, please intervene to get the East Anglia GREEN consultations restarted with an open discussion of ALL potential options – including offshore."
Despite this, the plans have some supporters.
Nigel Cornwall, an energy industry consultant and founder of Cornwall Insight, said: "The proposals from National Grid have been well trailed and are sensible.
"I'm very much a pragmatist.
"In my view, East Anglia GREEN is a worthwhile trade-off in order to ensure the region continues to get investment for renewable energy generation."
Mr Cornwall said a more strategic approach to electricity generation in East Anglia needed to be put in place in order to continue to attract investment into the region.
"The stakeholders in this region assume that we just turn the tap on and there is going to be loads of renewable investment. That is just not the case," he said.
"There needs to be a presumption in favour of development if it supports clean growth."
A spokesman for National Grid said: "We look at a number of options when considering any new reinforcements, and we will consider and evaluate offshore alternatives where appropriate.
"As the cost of all connections ultimately goes onto the electricity bills of domestic and business consumers, the UK government and our regulator Ofgem require us to develop proposals which represent value for money to consumers."
He continued to say that 190km offshore link between Scotland and England had "proposed as the most cost-efficient option in the timescales needed for delivery, as opposed to an onshore overhead line", adding: "Ofgem reviewed our proposals and was satisfied that a clear case has been made and there is consumer benefit in progressing the proposed subsea HVDC links."
He added the National Grid was "carefully reviewing" the feedback received during the consultation period, and people would get another chance to give their opinions when a planning application was submitted.
The spokesman also said the government is currently reviewing its planning guidance around pylons, adding if this changed the proposals may also change.
Which MPs have signed the letter?
- James Cartlidge, South Suffolk MP
- Sir Bernard Jenkin, Harwich and North Essex MP
- Jo Churchill, Bury St Edmunds MP
- Kemi Badenoch, Saffron Walden MP
- Richard Bacon, South Norfolk MP
- Will Quince, Colchester MP
- George Freeman, Mid Norfolk MP
- John Whittingdale, Maldon MP
- Jerome Mayhew, Broadland MP
- Alex Burghart, Brentwood and Ongar MP
- Dr Dan Poulter, Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP
- Mark Francois, Rayleigh and Wickford MP
- Duncan Baker, North Norfolk MP
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here