Reach Subsea to perform survey for Scottish offshore HVDC transmission link

Reach Subsea has secured a contract with SSEN Transmission to carry out a survey for an HVDC transmission link offshore Scotland.

The contract constitutes a detailed corridor survey for the Spittal to Peterhead HVDC power cable. The data will be used for detailed engineering and environmental assessment of potential cable routes with the survey corridor.

“We are delighted to have secured marine survey services from Reach Subsea for the Spittal to Peterhead HVDC Project. This is a hugely important step in underpinning the timely delivery of this important project, which forms part of a major upgrade of the electricity transmission network across Great Britain that is required to help meet the UK and Scottish Governments 2030 renewable energy and climate change targets,” said David Inge, Lead Project Manager at SSEN Transmission.

Work is scheduled for execution in the fourth quarter of 2023, with a duration of approximately 75 vessel days.

ROV survey vessel Viking Reach with its permanently mobilized high-speed Surveyor Interceptor remotely operated vehicle (ROV) will perform the work.

“The Surveyor Interceptor ROV (SROV) can provide more data of higher quality and higher resolution at higher speed and in more severe weather conditions than any other survey platform and is well suited for this assignment off the Scottish coast. We believe the contract with SSEN Transmission is an important step in our expansion strategy in the UK,” said Alastair McKie, Managing Director of Reach Subsea UK.

The Spittal-Peterhead and Western Isles offshore HVDC transmission links are part of The Pathway to 2030 Holistic Network Design (HND) which is a major upgrade of the electricity transmission network across Great Britain that is required to help meet UK and Scottish Governments’ 2030 renewable energy and climate change targets.

At the end of 2022, Ofgem approved the strategic electricity transmission reinforcements required to deliver the UK’s 50 GW offshore wind by 2030 target – a decision confirming that all SSEN Transmission projects identified by the Electricity System Operator (ESO) as required to meet 2030 offshore wind targets will be taken forward.

NKT is the preferred bidder for the supply of power cable systems for the two transmission links, while Hitachi Energy will deliver the HVDC converter system.