The British energy regulator Ofgem has approved Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN)’s plans for the 600 MW Shetland Transmission Link project. The high voltage direct current (HVDC) power line would connect Kergord on the Shetland Isles to Caithness on the Scottish mainland (United Kingdom). Ofgem's approval is conditional on the 457 MW Viking Wind project reaching a positive Final Investment Decision. The construction of the power line may start in 2020 and it could be commissioned in 2024 at the earliest, at a total cost of £649m (€745m).
The Shetland Islands are not connected to the main Great Britain transmission system and operate as an island network, while local needs are met from local power generation. The project would help secure Shetland’s electricity security of supply, since its main current power source - the Lerwick power plant - is expected to stop full operations in 2025. In October 2019, Ofgem rejected SSEN’s development plan of the power line project, considering that there were risks for consumers of paying for an underutilised transmission link to the Shetland Isles. The power line project is based on the development of the 457 MW Viking Wind park project, which failed to win a Contract for Difference (CfD) in a recent government auction. SSEN resubmitted its proposal in January 2020.
Interested in Power Plants?
Enerdata has developed a market research service to screen, monitor and analyse the development of power generation assets.
Power Plant Tracker offers an interactive database and a powerful search engine covering power plants worldwide – including both installed and planned capacities for renewables and fossil fuels.