SSEN have this week published their report on their consultation on the recent consultation on the Kintore to Tealing 400KV Overhead Line – including their decision to pursue the route preferred by Stonehaven and District Community Council.
The report document is as always lengthy, and covers a discussion of the need for the new infrastructure, the consultation undertaken, a summary of comments received and a summary of the key decisions made.
Links are provided to further reading, including:
Why the infrastructure is needed
A discussion about putting cables underground
Of key interest to Stonehaven residents, is the decision to push the line of pylons west, away from the town following the E2 corridor.
The following is an excerpt from the report:
”Route E2. The key findings of the appraisal of this option were:
- With respect to environmental criteria, both routes are considered largely comparable. Route E2 is
slightly more constrained due to the requirement to cross a small strip of Ancient Woodland (listed onthe Ancient Woodland Inventory) located within the route. Route E3 is more constrained for land use due to the extent and areas of commercial forestry present within the route option at Fetteresso
Forest. Route E3 is considered slightly less preferred on balance to Route E2 because the
commercial viability of the forestry operations could be compromised. The potential for Route E2 to
impact on the area of Ancient Woodland could also be mitigated through sensitive OHL alignment
design. - With respect to technical criteria, Route E2 is considered to have a lower level of technical constraint
and provides the opportunity to utilise the operational corridor of the existing Kintore to Fetteresso
XS2 & XS1 OHL, which is currently being uprated to 400 kV as part of the East Coast 400 kV Phase
1 project15. Route E2 is slightly more constrained by the elevation of the land, but Route E3 is more
constrained by the number of minor roads to be crossed and the number of angle towers that will berequired. - Route E2 is the least constrained option from a technical perspective and it is considered feasible
through OHL alignment design to mitigate potential impacts on the small strip of Ancient Woodland
e.g. by using a natural gap in the canopy to reduce and avoid tree felling. - With respect to cost considerations, Route E2 is likely to be the lower cost option but broadly
comparable to Route E3. However, the environmental and technical considerations noted above are
the key drivers of route preference.
On balance across environmental, technical and cost considerations Route E2 was therefore considered to represent the least constrained option. The feedback from consultation has not identified any significant issues which suggest the preferred route option should be changed. Route E2 will therefore be the route taken forward as the proposed route in the southern part of Section E.”
SSEN say feedback on potential overhead line alignments will be sought from community members and other stakeholders at the next series of public consultation events for the project, which are scheduled to take place in September and October – and include a presentation in Stonehaven in the Town Hall on 8 October .