CONNECTORS, CABLES & UMBILICALS
UK to Harness Energy Goldmine as New Subsea Cables Tipped to ’Directly Alleviate Crisis’
Electricity firm SSEN Transmission said the projects bringing cheap electricity onto the UK grid will go towards “directly alleviating” Britain's energy crisis.
The UK is poised for a major energy boost that could help to “directly alleviate” the current crisis via four high-voltage subsea cables that will bring cheap electricity from wind farms in Scotland onto the rest of the UK grid. To help accelerate the clean energy drive amid a crisis sparked by the soaring price of fossil fuels, Ofgem has approved the need for four new high-voltage subsea cables that will send electricity from wind farms to the National Grid.
One of the cables has been a topic of discussion for 17 years and would link the Western Isles of Scotland with the Scottish mainland. The 1.8GW subsea HVDC cable would go from Arnish in Lewis in the Western Isle to the Scottish
mainland, delivering electricity to a substation at Beauly in the Highlands.
This link is expected to lead to a major expansion of onshore and offshore wind projects in the region. According to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, the island’s local authority, it would harness 420MW of onshore wind generation in Lewis and 1.3GW of offshore wind generation.
Another two of the proposed cables with 2GW capacity would link Peterhead in Aberdeenshire with England. These will both be taken forward as joint ventures with National Grid Electricity Transmission. Under the plans, another cable would run from Spittal in Caithness to Peterhead.
Electricity firm SSEN Transmission said the projects could lead to “directly alleviating the UK's energy crisis”. It added that the wider SSE Group's investment could surpass £24billion this decade.
Rob McDonald, Managing Director of SSEN Transmission, said: “The publication of the ASTI Framework is a critical milestone to support our collective net zero and energy security ambitions and we welcome Ofgem’s approval of the need for the investments required to deliver 2030 offshore wind targets.”
Paul Steele, Leader of the Comhairle, said: “The islands have waited a long time for this excellent news.
“The potential for the Western Isles to be a world-class resource in renewable energy has long been talked about and that potential can now be delivered for the benefit of the climate, UK energy security and our island economy.”
This also comes as UK billpayers are currently forking out (on average) double the amount for their energy bills compared with last year due to Russia’s war in Ukraine and supply cuts to Europe.
December 2022
www.sosmagazine.biz 29
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
