The first phase of cable laying as part of the Shetland High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) has begun off the coast of Caithness, marking a major milestone in the £660M project.

The project – conducted by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) will connect Shetland to the main UK energy system for the first time, supporting Shetland’s future security of supply as well as enabling the connection of renewable energy generation.

The beginning of the cable was successfully pulled-in to where it makes landfall at Noss Head near Wick from aboard the specialist cable-laying vessel NKT Victoria – expected to complete the first 100km of cable laying by mid-July.

NKT Victoria will lay the cables in three campaigns – the first from Noss Head in Caithness along 100km of length to a point to the east of the Orkney isles which is currently underway.

The second campaign is expected to begin in March 2023 and will involve another 57km of cable from Weisdale Voe on Shetland heading south.

The third campaign will take place later in 2023, which will complete the link between the first and second campaigns in the North Sea to join all three campaigns together to complete the full 260km subsea HVDC link.

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The Shetland HVDC link is the first transmission connection between Shetland and the Scottish mainland, connecting Shetland to the GB transmission grid for the first time. This allows for Shetland to export renewable electricity generation to the grid, as well as ensure security of electricity supply for Shetland.

SSEN Transmission Lead Project Manager Chris Finnigan said: “We are delighted that specialist cable laying vessel NKT Victoria has begun this major milestone in kicking off the first subsea cable installation campaign on the Shetland HVDC link.

“The installation of the subsea cable is one of the major components of the Shetland HVDC link project, and it marks an exciting step in the project for SSEN Transmission and our contractors, and we look forward to the completion of this first subsea cable campaign over the coming weeks.”

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