ABB bags USD-800m order for Scottish subsea power link

Sep 9, 2014 - UK utility SSE Plc (LON:SSE) has awarded ABB Ltd (VTX:ABBN) a contract worth over USD 800 million (EUR 621m) to work on a subsea power link in northern Scotland that would facilitate the integration of 1.2 GW of renewable energy capacity.

The Switzerland-based industrial group said in a statement today it will be delivering the Caithness-Moray high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power transmission link for Scottish Hydro Electric (SHE) Transmission Plc, connecting the power grid on either side of the Moray Firth. More specifically, ABB will develop, supply and commission two 320-kV land-based HVDC Light converter stations. The one located in Moray will be rated at 1.2 GW. The other 800-MW station will be situated at Spittal in Caithness. The company will also lay submarine and underground cables.

ABB noted that it expects the transmission link to be up and running in 2018.

The project is part of SHE Transmission’s efforts to beef up its power network that serves northern Scotland so it could accommodate the quick growth in electricity production from renewable sources, ABB explained. About 1.2 GW of wind, wave and tidal energy projects are expected to be plugged in, it added.

The subsea power link project has already received the green light from the UK’s Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem).

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.776)

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