OIC dismay at cable delay announcement

Orkney Islands Council is calling for urgent talks with the UK and Scottish Governments and Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission after the announcement that a new grid connection to mainland Scotland is being postponed until 2018.

A new cable running from the west coast of Orkney Mainland to Caithness had been expected in 2016 – and has a key role to play in ensuring developers can fully utilise the islands’ renewable energy resources.

But Scottish and Southern Energy has now announced that the proposed cable linking wind, wave and tidal energy developments in Orkney to mainland Scotland is not expected to be completed until two years later.

It also warns that completion by Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission will depend on a number of “challenges” being overcome.

OIC convener, Councillor Steven Heddle, said: “The announcement that this crucial transmission link is being delayed until 2018 at the earliest has been met with understandable dismay in Orkney.

“This effectively shuts the door on connecting new renewable energy projects to the grid for many years to come, putting local jobs in jeopardy and threatening our local economy.

“Strategically, this makes no sense whatsoever. Orkney is playing a global role in the development of marine renewable energy with more wave and tidal devices under test here than at any other single site in the world.

“The next step is the deployment of commercial arrays of wave and tidal technologies – but for that we need the extra grid capacity a new cable will bring.”

Councillor Heddle added: “It is vital that we and partner organisations now seek the backing of both the UK and Scottish Governments – and that they support our efforts to reverse this decision and get the cable connection in place by 2016 as planned.”