Have you ever heard of BritNed? Neither had I until this week. No, it's not the title of a film about some kind of hooligan, it's the name for the power cable that makes up the newly opened energy link between the UK and the Netherlands.
According to this report in the guardian the link cost a full half billion pounds to build, is 160 miles long, and weighs 23 tonnes. That's a lot of cable - it's also a new type of direct current cable that can carry electricity much further than the old types which lost power after about 50 miles.
More interconnectors like Britned may be on the way, with BusinessGreen quoting Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne as saying that "by 2020 we could have over 10GW of additional electricity flowing under the North Sea".
This additional resource is likely to have influence on prices, as it means energy can be cheaply and easily brought in, and surplus energy sold. Good news for renewables too apparently as it means that they can be sold on too. Or purchased if necessary - with an envisioned future supergrid exchanging wind, solar and sea power.
Now, if we could only get a pipe that carried all that lovely Dutch beer to the tap at my local, the world would be a step closer to perfection.
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