SSEN Transmission contracts suppliers for Orkney-Caithness link

SSEN Transmission, part of SSE plc (LON:SSE), said on Thursday it has awarded key contracts for the Orkney-Caithness link that will for the first time connect Orkney to the Scottish mainland, with construction starting this month.

The project, worth more than GBP 900 million (USD 1.17bn/EUR 1.07bn), will enable the connection of up to 220 MW of new renewable electricity to Great Britain's electricity transmission network. It will involve a new substation at Finstown in Orkney, around 14 km (8.7 miles) of underground cable to Warebeth and then 53 km of subsea cable to a new substation at Dounreay in Caithness.

Over the last few weeks, contracts have been awarded to the key supply chain partners, SSEN Transmission said. Siemens Energy and BAM Joint Venture (JV) will build the substations, RJ McLeod will install the underground cable ducting, and Nexans will manufacture and install the cables.

The Orkney-Caithness link project, early development on which started in 2017, is expected to achieve full energisation in 2028.

(GBP 1 = USD 1.304/EUR 1.184)

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