Caithness-Moray subsea link following completion of the Dounreay-Beauly grid upgrade

8th April 2013

SHE Transmission moves forward with Caithness-Moray subsea link following completion of the Dounreay-Beauly grid upgrade.

Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission plc (SHE Transmission), is progressing to the final stages of developing a significant subsea link between Caithness and Moray following the successful completion of its £78 million investment to upgrade the Dounreay to Beauly overhead transmission line.

The Dounreay to Beauly upgrade started construction in 2010 and the increased network capacity has been completed on time and within budget. With over 650 Megawatts (MW) of renewable generation already connected in Caithness, and a further 200MW consented or under construction, it is anticipated that the extra capacity released by the upgrade will be used within the next few years.

In addition, with continued growth of a diverse range of renewable generation consented or proposed for the north of Scotland, SHE Transmission is well advanced on the next stage of network reinforcement to enable the export of power from the North of Scotland: the Caithness Moray link. In the past week the link has entered the final stages of development including a submission to Ofgem for regulatory consent for the investment.

Following extensive environmental investigations and consultation, SHE Transmission has proposed a subsea cable option. This will connect to onshore substations at Spittal in Caithness and Blackhillock, near Keith in Moray and will be capable of transmitting around 1,200MW of electricity. Each element of the link will require, or has already received, planning consent from the relevant authority.

David Gardner, SSE’s Director of Transmission, said: “The completion of the Dounreay-Beauly demonstrates good progress with the work we are doing to reinforce the transmission infrastructure in the north of Scotland.

“At a time when there is a lot of discussion about the need for investment in different types of infrastructure to boost the economy, we are progressing with our capital expenditure programme which will connect significant amounts of renewable energy to the grid; contributing to energy security, economic growth and decarbonisation of electricity generation.”

Rob Gibson SNP MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross said: “I welcome the development of the converter station near Spittal as part of the Caithness to Moray electricity transmission network. SHE Transmission have full planning permission for the site near Achanarras which will allow the development of the undersea link to carry power produced in the Pentland Firth and onshore in Caithness to Moray under the sea. The jobs benefits to Caithness will be further realised as will the national targets for decarbonised electricity supply.”

Niall Stuart, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables added: “This is another important step forward in the delivery of an electricity grid for the challenges of the 21st century. The new subsea link is an important piece of the plan to increase output in the North of Scotland from renewable electricity, including our world-leading wave and tidal sector.

“It’s important that as we develop our renewable energy industry and make good on our ambitions to create a global centre of excellence in Scotland, we have the right kind of grid infrastructure in place to take this electricity to homes and business across the country.”

Construction of the link is likely to take around 5 years and is due to start later this year with work at Blackhillock substation near Keith in Moray.

Since 2009 SHE Transmission has committed to over £1bn of investment in the transmission network in the north of Scotland to build on the connection of almost 3GW of renewable energy.

As part of SSE’s commitment to local supply chain initiatives it launched a new Highland business portal designed specifically to offer Highland businesses, service providers and local suppliers the opportunity to do business with the UK’s second largest energy company. The portal can be accessed at www.sseopen4business-highlands.com.

In November 2012, SSE and UHI signed a partnership agreement aimed at helping the Highlands and its people make the most of the opportunities arising from the Energy industry.
Key areas for collaboration include creating the right training infrastructure and in promoting innovation and research. The partnership builds on the £3m that SSE has already committed to training and skills in the Highlands.

In 2012 SHE Transmission developed a training scheme with Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Inverness College UHI which has given over 20 young people the skills and opportunity to enter the energy industry. SHE Transmission recently received the National Skills Academy for Power award for Education and Skills Provider of the Year for the Transmission Pilot Programme.