David Ross
Highland Correspondent
THERE is to be a new subsea power connection from Ayrshire to the Kintyre
Peninsula, where along with Arran thousands of homes were without power for
four days due to snowstorms in March.
Scottish Hydro Electric (SHE) Transmission says it will spend over £200
million to upgrade the electricity transmission network between Kintyre and
Hunterston after receiving positive feedback from the industry regulator,
Ofgem.
The upgrade will release up to 150MW of additional grid capacity for
renewable projects signalling a significant boost for the Kintyre economy.
The upgrade will involve installation of a twin subsea cable link from a
new substation called Crossaig to Hunterston.
The upgrade will also include a new 13.5km section of tower line between
Crossaig and the existing substation at Carradale, which will largely
follow the existing route. Once construction is complete, the old tower
line will be removed.
This link has been planned for a number of years in order to connect
renewable energy in the area. However, the project has the added benefit of
providing an alternative source of power from the mainland which will
increase the resilience of the network.
David Gardner, director of transmission for SSE, said: “The announcement
from Ofgem signals another significant step in our plans to reinforce the
transmission infrastructure throughout Scotland.
“Along with completion of key projects within our approved budget of
£1.4bn, this project demonstrates that we are gaining momentum on 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.”
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