Cables to transport power from offshore wind farms around the UK.
National Grid ESO said it was the biggest network upgrade in 60 years.
But critics have called the £54bn project "short-sighted and shameful".
There are now more than 11,000 wind turbines on and offshore, which produce nearly a quarter of the UK's electricity.
National Grid ESO, which runs the electricity network, said the plan it has laid out would enable the government to deliver 50GW of offshore wind power by 2030 - a third of the UK's electricity demand - while creating 168,000 jobs.
It claimed the network could lead to more than £50bn of investments over the next eight years.
