Caithness - Moray Link

The Caithness - Moray Link is a 160 kilometres (99 mi) HVDC submarine power cable beneath the Moray Firth in Scotland, linking Spittal in Caithness and Blackhillock in Moray. Constructed by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, it is capable of transmitting up to 1,200 MW of power.[4] It was officially completed in January 2019, under budget at a cost of £970m, and was reported as the largest single investment in the northern Scottish electricity network since the 1950s.[5][3][6]

Caithness - Moray Link
Location
CountryUnited Kingdom
FromSpittal substation, Caithness
Passes throughMoray Firth
ToBlackhillock Substation, Moray
Ownership information
OperatorScottish and Southern Electricity Networks
Construction information
Installer of conductor/cableNKT A/S[1]
Installer of substationsABB Group[2]
Construction cost£970 million[3]
CommissionedJanuary 2019
Technical information
Typesubmarine cable
Type of currentHVDC
Total length160 km (99 mi)
Power rating1,200 MW
DC voltage320 kV
No. of poles2
No. of circuits1

The link was constructed to improve the connectivity of the Scottish electricity transmission network, and allow increased flow of electricity from renewable energy sources in the north of Scotland, such as the Beatrice and Dorenell wind farms.[3] It is the second HVDC link to be constructed within the National Grid (as opposed to as an interconnector)[lower-alpha 1], after the Western HVDC Link.

Construction

The route was originally intended to form part of the Shetland HVDC Connection, however the project was split into two parts, with the Caithness - Moray link to be constructed first at a projected cost of £1.2 billion.[7]

The Caithness - Moray link was approved by regulators in 2014[7], with the contract for laying the undersea cable awarded to NKT A/S. 113 kilometres (70 mi) of the link runs beneath the sea, with a total of 48 kilometres (30 mi) of underground XLPE cable at both ends.[1]

The project required the construction of two new HVDC converter stations, at Spittal and Blackhillock, with the construction contract for these awarded to ABB Group.[2] After the addition of the converter station, Blackhillock Substation became the largest in the UK, at the size of 24 football pitches.[5]

The wider project also involved the augmentation of other parts of the power transmission network in northern Scotland, with upgrades carried out on a total of eight substations and two overhead transmission lines.[6]

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References
  1. "CMS, Scotland". NKT. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  2. "Caithness Moray HVDC Link". ABB (Press release). Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  3. "Completion of Caithness-Moray transmission link". Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (Press release). 11 January 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  4. "Caithness - Moray". Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  5. Keane, Kevin (11 January 2019). "Subsea electricity link between Caithness and Moray completed". BBC. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  6. Ibbetson, Connor (14 January 2019). "£1bn Scottish energy link completed under budget". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  7. Bevington, Pete (11 July 2014). "Cable to open up isles renewables approved". Shetland News. Retrieved 9 February 2020.

Notes
  1. In modern times. HVDC Kingsnorth, since decommissioned, was the first internal HVDC link.
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