OREANDA-NEWS. Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission plc (SHE Transmission) has awarded four contracts with a cumulative value of approximately Ј600 million to help facilitate the delivery of new electricity substations in the north of Scotland. The contracts, which have been awarded on a regional basis, are designed to encourage investment in Scotland and will help support over 150 jobs.

Demand for connection to the transmission network from renewable developers has increased considerably, requiring significant change to the way that it is configured and operated. SHE Transmission is investing heavily to upgrade and reinforce the network, with a Ј1.1bn capital investment programme that has the flexibility to increase by a further Ј4bn if required. To date, over 2,600 Megawatts of renewable energy have been connected in the SHE Transmission licensed area.

The development of the new substations is an integral part of the investment programme and will help to facilitate the connection of more renewable generation in the north of Scotland.

The four awards have been made as follows:

Caithness and Sutherland has been awarded to a consortium of ABB UK Ltd and Balfour Beatty Engineering Services Ltd;

East Coast including Aberdeenshire has been awarded to a consortium of Alstom Grid UK Limited and Enterprise Utility Services Limited;

Moray and West has been awarded to a consortium of Bam Nutall Limited and Siemens Transmission and Development Limited; and

A fourth award has been made to a consortium known as Miller Quatro, a new entrant to the market place. The purpose of the fourth award is to increase future competition.

David Gardner, SSE’s Director of Transmission, said: “The award of these contracts, with some of the industry’s global experts will help deliver the infrastructure that is needed to support the connection of renewables, as well as providing a boost to the local communities where we are operating. We are also working on similar awards for all of the proposed overhead line and underground cable works.

“We believe the communities in which we work and operate are very important and that we play a valuable role in contributing to the local economy. We’ve therefore made sure that communities, local employment and local supply chain are at the heart of the contracts. This will build on the work we are already doing to develop a trained, skilled workforce.”