As the renewables industry digests yesterday’s announcement of indicative strike prices from the UK Government yesterday, planning the grid infrastructure to support it in the north of Scotland enters a new phase.
Our electricity transmission network in the north of Scotland, often referred to as the grid, comprises 5,000km of underground cables and overhead lines. It connects a large amount of primarily renewable generation to central and southern Scotland and the rest of Great Britain. We are responsible for maintaining the network but also for investing in it.
Over the next few years we will be investing over £1.1bn, with the potential to increase this significantly in response to the needs of large-scale electricity generators. Our aim is to provide timely connection of renewable generation, helping the country meet renewable energy targets, reduce emissions and promote economic growth. For example, during the last month we’ve connected over 100MW of renewable generation to our transmission network.
The programme of upgrades and reinforcements that we are currently working on will allow for even more to be connected. These include the successful completion of the Dounreay-Beauly upgrade in March, the forthcoming energisation of the first part of the Beauly-Denny line, and the progress with regulatory approval of Kintyre-Hunterston and Caithness-Moray, which will release a large amount of grid capacity in Argyll and the north of Scotland.
I’m often asked why we don’t just get on and build things and I think that’s a good question. There isn’t a simple answer to that but in part it comes down to the fact that we are part of a process. We have to build a case for new subsea links or overhead cables and justify it on the basis that it represents value for money for all customers across GB – it’s only right that we should do that. We’re not allowed to build something if the demand by developers is not there.
We know how important it is to keep talking to people, not just to keep them updated, but also to listen to them. We will shortly be issuing our quarterly stakeholder update and I’d be interested to receive any comments, particularly if you think there’s something we can improve upon. I can be contacted at networkcomms@sse.com.