Cable supplier secured for 100 km Orkney transmission link
Plans for a new 100 km subsea electricity link between Orkney and the Scottish mainland have progressed after a high voltage cables supplier was chosen for the project.
Image for illustration purposes.
UK: Plans for a new 100 km subsea electricity link between Orkney and the Scottish mainland have progressed after a high voltage cables supplier was chosen for the project.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Transmission’s Orkney transmission will enable the connection of up to 220 MW of renewable electricity from Orkney to the Scottish mainland at Dounreay. SSEN Transmission has now entered into a capacity reservation agreement with cable and optical fibre company Nexans for the manufacturing and installation of the subsea and onshore cable for the project.
It comes after energy regulator Ofgem approved SSEN Transmission’s plans for the electricity link in July of this year. The electricity link consists of a new substation at Finstown in Orkney, and around 57 km of subsea cable, connecting to a new substation at Dounreay in Caithness. SSEN has described the link as “the final piece in the jigsaw” in connecting all three of Scotland’s main island groups to the mainland electricity transmission network.
All planning consents are in place for the point-to-point connection, with work underway to plan the on-island infrastructure required to connect and transport Orkney renewable generators to Finstown substation before onward transmission to demand centres. The Orkney islands represent a major source of renewable electricity as they are home to established onshore wind.
Earlier this summer, the UK’s single largest electricity transmission project ever, which will connect Scotland to England via a 436 km long subsea transmission cable, received planning consent. The 525 kV, 2 GW high voltage direct current subsea transmission cable known as Eastern Green Link 2 will be delivered as a joint venture between National Grid and SSEN Transmission.
Source: Ground Engineering
#Eastern Green Link 2#National Grid#Nexans#Scotland#SSEN Transmission#UK