Scottish high-voltage cable factory plan approved

Japan-headquartered Sumitomo Electric Industries has received approval for its plans to establish a power cable factory in Scotland.

The Highland Council’s north planning applications committee approved the planning permission for the new high-voltage cable factory near Inverness last week.

The development at Global Energy Group’s Nigg yard will form part of the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport.

According to the Global Underwater Hub (GUH), councilors unanimously backed the plans for the £200 million facility that will be situated on the northern shore of the Cromarty Firth.

Neil Gordon, GUH Chief Executive, believes that the creation of this new facility would enhance manufacturing capacity in Scotland, which is excellent news for both domestic and international projects. The decision to locate the factory in Scotland is expected to also further strengthen the capability of the UK underwater supply chain with its substantial pipeline of offshore wind project opportunities and help build a skilled workforce and meet UK and global net-zero ambitions.

“Global Underwater Hub welcomes the news that Sumitomo Electric Industries’ plans for a new high voltage cable factory in Scotland have been approved. These cables are a key component of the underwater infrastructure for fixed and floating offshore wind projects. GUH has long highlighted both the need to establish quality standards to reduce the incidence of cable failures and address a looming under-supply of cables that threatens the project timescales of many offshore wind projects,” said Gordon.

Last summer, Sumitomo Electric and its offshore installation partner Van Oord Offshore Wind UK were successful in becoming part of the Framework of Contractors to potentially deliver future subsea cable projects, alongside NKT, for SSEN Transmission.