A ‘last minute’ rush as wind power generators raced to get their Grid
connections before the renewables obligation subsidy ends on 31 March 2017
has resulted in a record year for connections in northern Scotland.
The electricity transmission network in the Highlands now supports more
than over 4.5GW of renewable electricity following the recent successful
connections of Bienneun (Blue Energy, 108.8MW) and Bhlaraidh (SSE
Renewables, 108MW) wind farms.
The connection of the two wind farms, which were both delivered ahead of
schedule, brings the total amount of renewable electricity connected in the
north of Scotland so far this financial year to over 500MW, the highest
combined capacity that has connected in a single year since privatisation.
In advance of the imminent closure of the Renewables Obligations Scheme at
the end of the financial year, there has been an increased demand for
Scottish Hydro to provide connections to its transmission network for
renewable developers.
In the case of the combined Bienneun and Bhlaraidh, SSEN and the two
developers agreed an accelerated delivery programme to ensure connection to
the transmission system before changes to renewable subsidies come into
effect.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), operating under licence
as Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission Plc, owns and maintains the
electricity transmission network in the north of Scotland.
Under its licence, SSEN is required to develop and maintain an efficient,
coordinated and economical system of electricity transmission, ensuring
that there is sufficient network capacity and providing a connection for
developers who wish to export their generated electricity to the grid.
SSEN expects to connect a significant number of new renewable projects to
its transmission network throughout the remainder of this decade, with
enough contracted projects to more than double the current capacity of
renewable electricity in the north of Scotland, subject to individual
projects going forward.
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