SCOTLAND, UK - SSE has secured approval from UK's energy regulator Ofgem for the construction of the Shetland link, a 600 MW high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) transmission link connecting Shetland to Great Britain mainland.
Undertaken by SSE's transmission business Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks Transmission (SSEN Transmission), the subsea transmission link will help connecting renewable power generated on Shetland to the main Great Britain's electricity system.
This approval is, however, conditional as Ofgem needs to be satisfied by the end of this year that the SSE Renewables' 443 MW Viking wind farm project is likely to move forward.
SSE CEO Alistair Phillips-Davies said: "It has been a long journey, but with a combined investment in excess of £1 billion, the construction of the subsea transmission link, all associated onshore infrastructure and the Viking Energy wind farm will deliver substantial socio-economic and environmental benefits to Shetland's, Scotland's and the UK's economy, supporting hundreds of skilled jobs in the process."
SSE stated that with the receipt of all the necessary regulatory and planning approvals, construction of the subsea link and all the associated onshore transmission infrastructure and the Viking wind farm will scale up in the weeks to come.
