The UK’s power transmission company SSEN Transmission has selected a consortium of Sumitomo Electric and Van Oord as the preferred bidder for the development of the Shetland 2 HVDC subsea transmission project. The 525 kV, 330 km Shetland 2 cable will notably connect ScotWind’s offshore wind projects to the UK power grid, adding 1.8 GW of capacity to the country.
The necessity for a second HVDC link connecting the Shetland Islands to the UK’s main transmission system has been determined by the electric system operator National Grid ESO as part of its Beyond 2030 strategic network plan. The plan outlines an investment of £5bn (€5.8bn) by SSEN in the north of Scotland by 2035 to strengthen the region’s energy infrastructure.
SSEN is also developing the first Shetland transmission project. Construction of the 600 MW HVDC Shetland Transmission Link started in 2020. It will connect Kergord on the Shetland Isles to Caithness on the Scottish mainland and is on track to be completed by summer 2024.