Moray is playing a central role in the biggest renewal of the north of Scotland's electricity transmission system since it was first built, with around 140 people currently working across sites between Blackhillock, near Keith, and the coast west of Portgordon.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), operating under licence as Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission plc, is delivering a £1.1 billion investment centred on a subsea and underground transmission cable which will run for around 100 miles between Spittal in central Caithness and Blackhillock. The cable will use cutting edge High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) technology and be capable of transmitting up to 1200 Megawatts of renewable power beneath the Moray Firth.
Last month, the first element of the major project was energised on schedule with the successful connection of part of the expanded substation at Blackhilllock with the existing Alternating Current network that runs between the Highlands and the north east. From Blackhillock to the new cable's landfall at Tannachy Sands, by Portgordon, the focus of work is now on the HVDC system itself.
At Blackhillock itself, the steel frame of the Moray HVDC converter station has begun to take shape. The building, which sits within the expanded substation, will house highly sophisticated equipment capable of converting 'Direct Current', suitable for long distance point-to-point transmission of power, into the 'Alternating Current' form used on the main transmission network, right down to the low voltage power supply to individual homes and businesses. The frame consists of more than 700 tonnes of structural steel, which will eventually be covered with more than 11,000 square metres of cladding. Once all elements of the structure are complete, installation of key electrical equipment will get under way in 2017.
Between Blackhillock and the coast, work to install the underground cable is already past the half way mark, with 15 out of 25 cable sections already installed following delivery to Buckie Harbour last year. A series of drills have been taking place to enable the cable to pass beneath major roads and the railway with minimal disruption, and these are due to be completed this autumn. While further cable works continue, the reinstatement and restoration of land where installation has already taken place will begin next month.
Finally, at Tannachy Sands, by Portgordon, a purpose built compound has been established to accommodate specialist drilling equipment that will enable the cable to make the transition onshore from its journey across the Moray Firth seabed. Over the coming months, 4 drills will be completed by engineers, each of which will run around 1.6km out to sea and achieve a depth of about 50 metres into the bedrock. The method has been selected to minimise impacts on the Moray coastline's unique geology and environment. Once complete, the drills will leave steel-lined ducts into which cables will be pulled next year when a state of the art cable-laying vessel is due to install the crucial offshore element of the Caithness-Moray link.
Commenting on the work currently under way across the area, SSEN's Caithness-Moray HVDC Project Director Graeme Barclay said:
"The Caithness-Moray project as a whole represents the largest investment that has taken place in the north of Scotland's electricity network since the post-war hydro era. By enabling the connection and efficient transmission of large volumes of renewable generation, it will play a vital part in the country's transition to a lower carbon economy.
"On a typical day at this stage in the project, there are around 140 people working across our sites in Moray, including our main site offices at Blackhillock. They include locally resident staff and local supply chain businesses, as well as others who make use of local accommodation and services while they are working in the area.
"We recognise that work on this scale can cause some disruption and we make efforts to work with communities, landowners and the local authority to keep this to a minimum. Where any questions or concerns do arise, I would encourage residents to contact our Liaison Manager Lesley Dow on lesley.dowsse.com or 07876 837490 so that they can be addressed. I would particularly like to thank local communities and landowners for their understanding - and for the assistance they have given to our team from the earliest planning stages to the current peak in activity on site."
Further information and regular updates about the Caithness-Moray project can also be found from the project's website at www.ssen-transmission.co.uk/projects/caithness-moray.