The completion of the Viking Wind Farm, developed by SSE Renewables, and of a 260km subsea transmission link installed by SSEN Transmission means the Shetland Islands are now connected to the Great British electricity grid.
The onshore wind power plant features 103 Vestas turbines and has an installed capacity of 443MW. The new high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link will transport electricity between Shetland and the GB mainland, connecting a new converter station at Kergord in Shetland to a switching station at Noss Head on the Scottish mainland.
The projects represent a £1 billion investment by SSE as part of its £20.5 billion commitment to UK clean energy infrastructure by 2027.
At the peak of construction on the projects, the work supported 650 jobs and contributed £125 million to the Shetland economy. The development’s ongoing operations are expected to contribute over £70 million to the local economy over its lifetime.
The Viking Wind Farm project also has the largest community fund for a single renewable project in Great Britain, totalling over £72 million.
First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, commented on the significance of the project: These developments will not only aid us in our efforts to decarbonise our energy system, but help to stimulate sustainable economic growth in the local area.
It is welcome that Scotland’s onshore wind capacity continues to expand. This is a vital component of our mission to bring about a just transition to net zero.”
UK energy secretary Ed Miliband added: “By Switching on Viking, hundreds of thousands of homes in the Shetlands and right across the country will benefit from cheap, homegrown energy, and this project has created jobs and growth for local communities.”
The Viking Wind Farm’s 443MW operational capacity pushed the UK’s combined onshore and offshore wind capacity to over 30GW.
SSE chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies said: “Delivery of both the Viking Wind Farm and Shetland HVDC Transmission link are big engineering achievements and together represent a major milestone on the UK’s path to a clean energy system.
But it has taken nearly two decades for these projects to move from concept to completion and if we are serious about delivering clean power by 2030 – less than 2,000 days away – we need to make it much easier and faster to build this kind of mission-critical infrastructure.”
Flexibility for Scotland’s islands
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to increase the use of flexibility services on Scotland’s islands. The RFI focuses on several regions: Orkney, Shetland, Outer Hebrides, Mull, Coll and Tiree, Isaly Jura and Colonsay.
Catherine Winning, Flexibility Services Manager at SSEN Distribution, said: “Scotland’s islands are unique in a multitude of ways and offer great potential for building out the role of Flexibility Services as part of the local electricity mix. The likely benefits for potential providers – and wider communities – speak for themselves, so I’m keen to talk to interested parties to see if they can help expand these benefits further.
“Your responses to our Request for Information will help us design future services that will address the specific needs of island communities.”
She also clarified that “this is not a pre-qualification or tender process, rather an opportunity to contribute to the development of a more resilient and sustainable electricity system at a formative stage”.
SSEN’s first flexibility services were launched on Scotland’s islands, using hydropower instead of diesel to provide backup generation when a network fault occurred.
