SSEN Transmission has chosen David Smith Contractors to deliver a new high voltage direct current (HVDC) substation for the Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2) project.
EGL2, which is set to be the longest HVDC subsea cable in the UK, is currently under development by a joint venture between SSEN Transmission and National Grid. The 436km subsea cable will connect Peterhead, in the north-east of Scotland, to Drax in Yorkshire, and is expected to cost around £4.3bn to deliver. Once completed in 2029, the cable will be capable of transmitting 2GW of electricity.
In an effort to support the local community in Peterhead, SSEN has chosen local firm David Smith Contractors to undertake ground engineering work to deliver the HVDC converter substation at the Scottish end of the transmission link, enabling connection to existing network transmission infrastructure.
The firm will excavate and use locally-quarried stone to create a level platform for the converter substation building, with these works expected to be completed by July of next year. Hitachi Energy will deliver the converter substations themselves at both ends of the link.
David Smith, from David Smith Contractors, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this contract, extending our involvement in the EGL2 project and providing more opportunities for local employment. Our company prides itself on utilising the local workforce, with 125 current employees and a commitment to using local supply chains.”
“This appointment underlines the commitment we share with our partners to maximise local employment and business opportunities, which will continue throughout the construction phase of the project and beyond,” added SSEN Transmission’s Jamie Wallace, EGL2 lead project manager for the Peterhead converter station site.
The UK’s energy regulator Ofgem granted final approval for the costs associated with the project in August, and construction work began on the development in September.
EGL2 was the first project to complete Ofgem’s new fast-track approval and funding system, the Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment programme (ASTI). The ASTI is designed to speed up grid connection times for new offshore clean energy projects by as much as two years, in an effort to ease concerns regarding the UK’s grid connection queue has on the country’s net zero goals.
More recently, the Eastern Green Link 1 (EGL1) transmission project, linking Torness, East Lothian and Hawthorn Pit, County Durham, became the second proposal to complete the ASTI framework.
