Swiss power giant ABB has secured a £500 million contract from Perth utility firm SSE to provide a vital new electricity transmission link to the Highlands.
The Zurich-headquartered multinational will design and commission two land-based high voltage direct current converter stations in Caithness and Moray and supply the 160km subsea pipeline between them.
The contract is part of an overall £1.2 billion scheme by SSE subsidiary Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission to reinforce the ageing power network to north Scotland.
Once operational, the link will also be used to transmit electricity generated by offshore wind, wave and tidal renewables projects expected to be built in the region.
The project was given the go-ahead by energy regulator Ofgem in July and is seen as a vital upgrade to Scotland’s overall power network.
ABB yesterday said it had been commissioned to build a 1,200-megawatt-rated converter station at Blackhillock in Moray and an 800MW-rated facility at Spittal in Caithness.
The firm said it had also been contracted to supply both submarine and underground cabling covering the entire length of the link, which is expected to be operational in 2018.
“We are pleased to support this major transmission project that will enable integration of a significant amount of renewable energy into the grid and supply clean, emission-free electricity to millions of people,” said Claudio Facchin, head of ABB’s Power Systems division.
“ABB pioneered HVDC technology and continues to lead the way through innovation, as seen from several recent breakthroughs.”
The Caithness/Moray link and associated infrastructure work is the largest single investment in the north of Scotland electricity network since the hydro power development era of more than 50 years ago.
The new subsea link will have the capacity to carry 1,200MW of electricity across the outer Moray Firth enough to power up to two million homes.
ABB is the current global market leader in the type of voltage source technology which will be used on the Moray line, having delivered 13 of the 14 projects in place worldwide.
In July, SSE said it expected cable-laying works to begin within months and said the link would minimise strain on the existing Highland branch of the Scottish grid network.
The company also said the new infrastructure would help “unlock” the very significant potential for renewable energy schemes off the region’s coastline.