THE role of the proposed Hurlie substation became clear today: SSEN want it to connect the electricity from offshore wind farms to the national grid – and the proposed Kintore to Tealing 400 kV overhead powerline is the vital link.
Councillors teased this information from SSEN representatives during the pre-determination hearing at Viewmount for their application for the construction and operation of the 400 kV air insulated substation at Fetteresso Forest.
It was North Kincardine Councillor Mel Sullivan who asked the pertinant questions – were the two projects completely independent; could one be built without the other?
SSEN spokesman Chris Gardner said: ”They are submitted separately. The substation would not have any functionality if we had no overhead lines, because it needs to be connected to the grid.”
He went on to say the powerline would have some functionality on its own, but later added the decision to build one without the other would be an investment decision.
Scotland’s wind
Areas of the North Sea suitable for wind farms were identified – then licenses were offered to developers in a bidding process. This round of licensing in 2021/22 was called Scotwind – and was orchestrated by the Scottish Government under the banner of Crown Estate Scotland. The leases brought a windfall of £756 million to the Scottish Government.
Scotwind projects are still in development. Once they become operational, developers will pay annual rent based on the power generated. This income will be directed to the Scottish Government.
During the morning session, Cllrs Dickinson and Evison pressed further on the need for and function of the Hurlie substation.
Mr Gardner said the offshore wind farms that gained their licences through the Scotwind leasing round require landing points for their electricity. He referenced the National Energy System Operator, NESO, who took over the electricity system operation from National Grid. NESO have designed a Holistic Network Design for Offshore Wind.
Mr Gardner said this looked for an east coast landing point for Scotwind electricity – and an onward connection point connecting it to the grid – Hurlie being a location where they could do that.
”And we need to connect to high capacity lines for the export of power,” he said.
Councillors heard cummulative impacts of the two applications will be addressed in the committee report for the determination of the application for the substation. And for clarity it was noted it is Scottish ministers who will decide the proposals for the pylon route.
But a later speaker hammered home his view of the mutual importance of the powerline and substation projects.
Brian Wade, said: ”The existance of Hurlie is down to the existance of the powerline – the two are intertwined, you cannot deny it.”
Previously in The Bellman