Survey about to start for Scottish offshore link

Reach Subsea is set to begin a cable route seabed survey later this month for SSEN Transmission’s HVDC transmission link offshore Scotland.

The survey activities will be carried out in the North Sea and Outer Moray Firth for the Spittal to Peterhead HVDC power cable.

Survey vessel Viking Reach is expected to start work on October 20, 2023, and complete it by January 7, 2024.

The survey route is 165 kilometers long and covers a corridor of 500 meters. Activities are divided into two phases. Phase 1 includes a geophysical survey and will see Viking Reach operating with a tethered remotely operated vehicle (ROV). It is planned to run from October 20 to November 29.

Upon completion, Viking Link will begin the benthic and geotechnical survey along the route, whose completion is expected on January 7, 2024.

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.

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