Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has resubmitted its proposal for the 600 MW Shetland Transmission Link project to the British energy regulator Ofgem. The high voltage direct current (HVDC) power line would connect Kergord on the Shetland Isles to Caithness on the Scottish mainland (United Kingdom).
In October 2019, Ofgem rejected SSEN’s development plan of the Shetland Transmission Link project. The power line project was 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. The regulator thus considered that there were risks for consumers of paying for an underutilised transmission link to the Shetland Isles. The Shetland link project was expected to break ground in 2020 and to be commissioned in 2024 at a total cost of £649m (€766m).
The Shetland Islands are currently not connected to the main Great Britain transmission system and operate as an island network, while local needs are met from local power generation. SSEN's new submission is conditional on the Viking Wind project reaching a positive Final Investment Decision. 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. SSEN still expects to commission its Shetland Transmission Link in 2024.