Consultation with local people continues in the north east of Scotland on the power cables which will connect the electricity markets of Scotland and Norway.
The feedback from local people will help the project team finalise plans for the High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) cables to connect the consented converter station near Peterhead to a similar converter station at Simadalen in Norway, ahead of submitting a planning application to Aberdeenshire Council and Marine Licence applications to Marine Scotland this summer.
NorthConnect wants to lay a 665km, 1.4GW power cable connection which, if given the go-ahead, will enable power to be transmitted between Great Britain and Scandinavia. The link promises to benefit the Scottish consumer by helping keep prices down as well as enabling renewable electricity generation in Scotland and Norway to be maximised. It will help support the flexible, smart energy system the Scottish Government is striving for and facilitate even greater deployment of cost-effective low-carbon renewable energy solutions.
NorthConnect is now asking for feedback from local people on the HVDC cable route which will feed into the converter station on a site at Fourfields, west of Stirling Hill quarry. The building, which was consented in 2015, will house the components required to convert electricity from direct to alternating current and vice versa to allow connection on to the National Grid.
Richard Blanchfield, the NorthConnect Permitting manager in the UK, said: “To connect the two converter stations, two cables measuring around 665 km will be needed - that’s approximately the distance from Peterhead to London. The cables, which include a fibre optic control cable, will be able to transport energy both ways; monitor and respond instantaneously to meet the demands of either market and, crucially, be able to come to our aid in the event of a ‘black start’ situation, ensuring our lights stay on.”
“NorthConnect is looking towards operation in 2023 so we are now continuing the permitting process. Our objective is to keep the impact of the project to an absolute minimum, on land and at sea. That’s why we want feedback from people in the area ahead of a planning and marine licence application submission”.
On 23rd May from 2pm – 8pm NorthConnect will hold a community open day at the Buchan Braes Hotel in Boddam where the public can meet the project team and also provide feedback by completing a questionnaire. The following day, the team will hold a drop-in session for local fishermen at the Peterhead Fishermen’s Mission from 10am – 4pm.
The following week, on 29th and 30th May, NorthConnect is hosting two ‘Meet the Buyer’ days, one in Aberdeen and one in Boddam, which will allow local suppliers the chance to meet the team involved in procurement for each of the different packages of work involved in the project. Booking can be made via the NorthConnect website at www.northconnect.no/northconnect-meet-the-buyer-days
