THE latest stage of ScottishPower plans to create an underwater “super highway” to bring offshore energy into the UK network will open to public consultation on Monday.
The SP Energy Networks plans for new facilities in East Lothian are part of a £1.6 billion project to create an Eastern Link which the energy giant says will make the North Sea a “hidden powerhouse” of Europe.
It includes a substation at Thornton Bridge, near Dunbar, and converter station in fields to the east of Dunbar Energy Recovery Facility at Oxwellmains, as well as underground cables linking the network.
READ MORE: Substation planned for near Torness in major project
A consultation on the substation plans has already been held and now East Lothian Council has given the go-ahead for a further consultation, focusing on the converter station and underground cables, to be held throughout February.
The Eastern Link project aims to create a connection between Torness, east of Dunbar, and County Durham by 2027.
It estimates that about 12km of underground cables will be required to link the new substation, converter station and landfall sites in East Lothian, with 176km of sub-sea cables linking the Torness and County Durham sites.
Announcing plans for the new Eastern Link last year, SP Energy Networks said that it would deliver “an underwater super highway that would see the North Sea become the hidden powerhouse of Europe”.
It hopes that work on the link could begin next year, with it operational from 2027.
The company says that the work is vital in meeting net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the future as it works with the National Grid to develop some of the longest underwater high-voltage direct current (HVDC) links in the world.
It said: “To help meet those targets, SP Energy Networks is consulting on a vital new energy link between Scotland and England, known as the Eastern Link Project.
“To enable us to deliver this crucial project, we need to build a new substation and converter station, and lay underground cables and marine cables at our preferred locations in East Lothian.”
SP Energy Networks plans to hold online consultations as well as offering one-to-one chats with people and organising leaflet drops and community council briefings over the next month.
More information on the upcoming consultation and substation consultation can be found at the energy firm’s website at spenergynetworks.co.uk/pages/eastern_link_introduction.aspx
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