Shetland joins UK grid as Viking wind farm, subsea link go online

The SSE Plc (LON:SSE) group announced on Thursday that it has officially connected the Shetland Islands to the UK’s power grid for the first time, thanks to the completion of a new, 443-MW wind farm and a subsea transmission link.

The Viking wind farm, developed by SSE Renewables, is set to become the UK’s most productive onshore wind farm, according to the utility group. Equipped with 103 Vestas turbines, Viking’s annual output is expected to reach approximately 1.8 TWh, which would be enough to power nearly 500,000 homes.

A 260-kilometre (161.6 miles) high-voltage direct current subsea cable connects a new converter station at Kergord in Shetland to a switching station at Noss Head on the Scottish mainland, allowing the generated electricity to be transported to the wider UK grid, but also back to the Islands. The cable was installed by SSEN Transmission in three campaigns, using specialist cable-laying vessel NKT Victoria, SSE said.

SSE invested GBP 1 billion (USD 1.32bn/EUR 1.19bn) in the two projects as part of its GBP-20.5-billion commitment to UK clean energy infrastructure by 2027.

First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, said on the occasion: "The completion of these projects is a significant step in unlocking the green energy potential of the Shetland islands. These developments will not only aid us in our efforts to decarbonise our energy system, but help to stimulate sustainable economic growth in the local area”.

“It is welcome that Scotland’s onshore wind capacity continues to expand. This is a vital component of our mission to bring about a just transition to net zero”, Swinney added.

(GBP 1.0 = USD 1.32/EUR 1.189)

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